


After Prom: Duties, Forgotten Responsibilities and Blues

by Spirit_Flash



Category: Monster Prom (Visual Novel)
Genre: Asian-American Character, Attempt at Humor, Dating, Drama, F/F, F/M, I'll put warnings, M/M, Monster Prom: Second Term Spoilers, Other, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Some sad stuff, everyone dates everyone, may have mentions of secret endings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-01-16 12:21:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 57,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21270962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spirit_Flash/pseuds/Spirit_Flash
Summary: After the magnificent, wonderful shit show of prom, Brian Yu and his friends figure out that it really just doesn't end there. They continue to battle for friendship, fall in love, and of course, continue dating the head honchos of school.The fun never stops, but nobody is brave enough to talk about the normal disasters of life. Brian Yu is too afraid (and dead) to talk about his, too.(Contains happy elements, and occasional sad ones. These folks, after all, are high school students. Prepare for some angst and random sadness. Ah, adolescence!)





	1. The Prom and its Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heyo! 
> 
> I hope you all will enjoy this story. I currently have a lot of work on my plate, so I may not be able to update this story a lot. I'll see if I can continue working on it if I can. This is meant to be a product of satire, but it will also contain serious elements that are influenced by my time at high school as it goes along.

Ah, teenage hormones.

Don't you just hate waking up in the morning, and seeing that your morning wood has been activated? 

Brian Yu couldn't. He literally wasn't able to get it that way. He was, after all, a partially reanimated person, or what was left of a person. He sometimes wondered, through the sexy exploration part of his mind (the mind has lots of functions, like sexual daydreaming) if anyone caught morning wood thinking about him. He knew that technically, viewing him as sexually attractive would equate to necrophilia, which was excellent blackmail material against anyone who dared to fuck with him, or literally fuck him. He imagined the money and restraining orders rolling in. He knew that Vera would have liked the idea of blackmail. 

Unfortunately, the Monster Realm was much more different than the human realm. Anybody could go scot-free with fucking a dead person. Brian knew that Polly had a very, very healthy sex life, and none of her sexual partners had been arrested yet. He had to cross out 'getting someone arrested' from the annual Impossible Monster Challenge Bucket List!!! and pursue the other goals. Nearly everything was legal in the Monster Realm compared to the much more tame (and arguably more boring) human realm. That was why the bucket list was impossible to finish entirely. Prison was useless with someone like Damien LaVey, anyways. Prison was flammable, easy to blow up and even more fun to spice up some... intimate interactions.

None of Polly's partners were arrested for banging her, but she had banged prisoners before, and she was not ashamed to admit that.

Brian bet with his friends, Oz, Amira and Vicky, on who would miss out on a date. They all made the bet in Brian's dorm room, after curfew. They were all in for completing the Impossible Monster Challenge Bucket List!!! initially. They achieved the ' hypothetical badass award' by sneaking out of their assigned dormitories, and checked out as many other bucket list challenges as possible. They had managed to toilet paper a werewolf's house (how they met Scott), upload choir music to a devil's music playlist (how they met Damien) and critique the taste of the most 'snobbish' monster they could possibly think of (which was how they met Liam and unfortunately, Vera, when they judged her by how she acted and looked). They did these pranks and mischief before discovering that their high school had a prom. They were all horrified that they had marginally decreased their chances of getting laid, or experiencing love. Mostly, it was about getting laid, though.

"Oh, I hope I get someone..." Oz moaned. "I don't wanna be alone. I think I'm going alone."

"Hopefully I don't get detention again for 'showing attitude'," Amira hoped. "All it took was my hair to look hotter than usual for the teacher to consider me a threat. What a joke! I mean, if I do some favors, then maybe I can get a date."

"Let's all try to win the favors of the head honchos!" Vicky suggested. "Also, I bet myself as being hopeless."

"I bet that all of you will be successful," Brian predicted. "To make it easier, I have decided that I will not join prom."

"Aw, why?" Vicky asked.

"It's personal." _Too personal. _"And why not?"

Currying favor was difficult. Amira offered to work by the poolside to deliver drinks to students at Monster High at mid-term break. Her hair was soaked by the end of the day, which infuriated her and set her hair back alight in its natural flame, and saved money for a professional hair perm. Oz stayed outdoors and juggled with his shadow buddies (who stick around him at all costs) for an entire week to impress monsters into asking him out, before remembering that he had to do a homework assignment based on how to possess somebody and look cool while doing it. Vicky sucked up by offering services to comb through werewolf hair for several dollars a session (Scott became a loyal customer, but often forgot to pay), paying closer attention to chemistry classes (which gave more opportunities to make drugs with Polly and conspire poison making with Vera) and performing more abstract drama in the auditorium (which showed Liam that he wasn't the only one disgusted by mainstream media).

Brian decided that he wasn't going to bother attempting to reach out to the possible love interests, and instead ignored them. This surprisingly did not affect his popularity, because he was seen as someone hiding in the shadows rather than actively participating in pissing monsters off. He had nothing to lose; he was already dead. Amira could be drenched in water, Oz could be rendered permanently embarrassed by rejection (he couldn't handle social pressures, though it was impossible for him to die) and Vicky could have had her electricity cut off 'by accident'. But Brian was legitimately, bona fide, dead. He couldn't have even gotten a boner with natural impulse.

He could have, under certain circumstances, though he really did not want to ever talk about them.

Brian and his friends were all surprised that they all managed to get lucky. Amira asked out Polly, and was accepted only on the condition that she helped smuggle in a newly cooked batch of, in her words, _WICKED AF _drugs. They had a wonderful time playing tequila pong, which was like beer pong, except with a much higher alcohol content and chance of performing horrible decisions. Amira found herself going viral on Instagram, when a video of her humping the drink bar was uploaded. She locked herself in her dorm room, and promised via text that she would remain in there for three days, but was coaxed out by an energetic and proud Polly. They were due to have their second date after the mock exams.

Oz asked out Polly too, which created an awkward situation where Amira and Oz fought for their interests' affection. Oz was turned off, in time, by Polly encouraging an overdose of ecstasy that caused a local student to suffer constipation for a week, which was much less worse than her overall potential and possible outcome. Considering that the student was a cyborg, they must have had a literal digestive system of steel to have survived their endeavor. So, Oz asked out Zoe, who gladly took the time to ship him with other monsters while they hung out. Oz was impressed by Zoe's literary ability, even during the climactic scene where he was written into an orgy with the bohemian Liam and Zoe's guards. Oz made sure to delete Zoe's contact number as soon as he arrived back to his dormitory.

_I think I'm literally going to wash my eyes with bleach, _Oz texted to the friend group, _like, the strongest bleach possible._

_Zoe scarred the shit out of you, didn't she? _ Vicky asked. _How disgusting was her work?_

_It was disturbingly beautiful, _Oz replied._ Never have I ever thought that participating in group sex could be depicted in such a setting._

Vicky then replied back with the 'barf' emoji.

Vicky proved to be popular in her endeavors, and was immediately fought over by several monsters to take her hand and make her their date, which led the amount of monsters visiting the nurse's office to increase by 75%. Vicky found herself raking in serious dough when Scott indirectly promoted her business by frequently attending, and missing some time from his football practice. Curious werewolves found themselves at her house, begging to be groomed, too. Touched by Scott's role in making her rich, she asked him out, and was accepted.

Brian's mysterious nature and total lack of shits made him intriguing, according to a certain monster. After Brian finished showering and cleaning his fingernails, he found Damien at his door, poking his own tail.

* * *

**Brian's dorm, right before prom**

"Alright, bitch," Damien started when he saw him, and let go of his tail, "I would really need to fucking know which one of your friends installed 'Hark! The Herald Angels Sing' on my music playlist. If you don't tell me-"

"-you'll kill me?" Brian dared. 

Brian was still in his bath towel, and he didn't bother to dry off before he opened the door. Damien's face contorted into a twisted, maniacal smile. He punched through the dorm door, his fist leaving behind a short flame, which died down and ate through a hole in the wood. Brian had always wanted a peephole, though not a two way one.

"You're a real cheeky fucker, huh?" Damien taunted. "I don't think you'd be happy if something happened to your friends. But I gotta admit... your boldness is kinda turning me on."

"Uh..." 

"Nobody has ever dared to talk like that to me. Well, other than Vera once threatening to turn my dick to stone for borrowing some of her money-"

"You mean snatching it from her field of sight."

"Same thing. In Hell, we don't do generosity when we torture sinners. My dads are pros at preaching that. If Vera wasn't so stingy with her money, then I would have suggested to her to buy me a new trident. My dads really need a new one, and I have been dying to get them a Halloween present. Screw Christmas, obviously."

"Why would you need a new trident?"

"It's rusting, and far too blunt. Nobody's getting hurt as often, and I don't have any fun anymore. Our family trident had been passed down from several millennia ago. Traditions can be so lame."

"Do you personally know Satan?" Brian asked. "Perhaps you could ask him. He's literally the first demon-"

Damien's eyes narrowed. "Don't ever speak of that guy's name. He's the worst dude ever, and even I'm saying that. I fucking hate that bitch."

Damien 'hated' everybody. The only way that he could ever love someone, Brian theorized, was if he loved to punch them. The cafeteria had to reinforce their tables with the strongest material that they could possibly find, which was made discreet and impossible to discover. The authorities were worried that Damien would suddenly find out, and break the tables when he found out the solution. Again. 

He was, however, extremely fun to hang out with, because he could never give less shits about whatever he did. Not that Brian was curious about that.

"Why are you here, other than to accuse me of something you have no proof of?"

"I have proof that your pals had hacked into my music device."

"What kind of music device?" Brian knew what it was, and he knew that Damien was embarrassed by it. It wasn't the most technologically advanced item to brag about anymore. 

"Um... ugh..." Damien's face flushed a brighter pink than usual, on his red chiseled face. "... not necessary to know about! But you jackasses shouldn't think that because you dared to fuck with me, that you're better than me! I've had enough of being made fun of! That Amira chick set my table leg on fire."

"How would you know that?"

"Who else would have been able to do that besides her? Her head is literally a ball of fucking fire!"

"And you never set it on fire, once?"

"After breaking the cafeteria tables again last time, which was totally fucking metal, I was given the leftover materials. I invited some servants from Hell, and they helped craft it for me."

"You're abnormally chatty today. You tend to be a lot more physical."

"Now that everyone wants to go to prom, nobody is as easily punchable. It fucking sucks." Damien, tired of standing at the doorway, squeezed his way through. His overly warm shoulder brushed against Brian's unnaturally cold one. "There have been more concerns that I'd ruin their makeup by making them cry prematurely, or whatever. There were even secret judo lessons in class to protect students from being punched! By me! What jerks. That didn't stop me from barbecuing them like chicken and barring them from exiting. Some of them managed to kick me in the face and smash my groin. I don't know when I'll be able to have sex again."

Brian didn't know if he himself would ever be able to have sex again. 

_Would my skin peel off? Would my dick fall off? Would... my potential partner's dick fall off? I'm not picky, dick or no dick. But... could I transmit the zombification virus by... forget it. I need to deal with a pyromaniac right now, not my inactive boner._

"You know, if you need to go to a doctor, you can leave me alone now-"

"Fuck that! Pain won't make me their bitch, I'll make pain my bitch! I've also heard that pain and pleasure are the best of friends during sex, which I have been meaning to try out. Polly's been trying to convince me to do so over the past few days."

_Classic Damien. But why is he telling me this? _Brian thought.

"And why are you telling me any of this?" Brian asked.

"Well, everybody's fearful of me setting them on fire or forging their signatures to bind them permanently to the underworld, and my friends ditched me for your friends so I have nobody, or at least nobody bold as fuck enough, to go with. I was thinking about torturing you and your friends to make you guys fucking pay for this bullshit."

"Damien..."

"Don't ya fucking pity me, bitch. I'm still angry that your friends would pick such a powerful and horrifying holy song against me. I can still sense angels above, shaking their heads at me for my actions. Won't stop me from doing what I love, of course."

"Well..." Brian reached for his suit, which was very similar to the one that he wore before he died. He had attended prom before. But that was a story for another time. "Damien..."

"Huh?" Damien raised his head up. "What do you want-"

"Are you asking me to go to Prom with you?"

"Well... uh..." Damien eyed his suit, and looked down at himself. His legs were crossing themselves, and his feet dug into the carpet. He was nervous. "... would you?"


	2. The Prom and its Aftermath (2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Fact: Taoists believe that everyone enter the underworld under different stages, and that it is possible to live a comfortable life there as long as you have enough money. They also believe that if you are a good enough person, or are very well educated through special Taoist schools, you can become a god.]  
This is for the context of the joss paper. It is very common to practice this during funerals and visiting relatives' graves by Chinese people.
> 
> (This chapter contains brief mentions of the Damien FIGHT ending and the Scott COKE ending, though they do not necessarily spoil them. You may want to check out those endings first, before you read this.)

The fact that everyone made it to prom made Brian feel like a proud father. Without the concern for child support and looking after his hypothetical children.

He was just glad that none of his friends were left out. It was a blissful feeling to see that everyone made it.

_We should get tattoos to remember this! _Vicky excitedly texted. _I never want to forget this!_

_Easy for you to be excited, _Amira replied. _I'm worried that Polly is going to kill someone this time!_

_I'm so nervous, guys... _Oz texted. _What if I mess things up with Zoe? I'll never be able to live it down. And if I get a tattoo of that?_

_I'm literally dealing with a pyromaniac who can burn the whole place down, _Brian assured. _You'll be fine._

_Hey! _Amira angrily responded. 

_I'm not talking about you, Ami, _Brian had to confirm.

_Wait... then... __oh my blazes, you're taking out DAMIEN?! _Amira appeared to be screaming through the phone screen. _The fuck, man? If Polly's not gonna kill us, then Damien will toast us like s'mores! _

_That doesn't sound so bad, _Vicky joked.

_He'll burn our insides._ Amira predicted._ Like marshmallows that got burnt._

_... I don't wanna be a burnt marshmallow, _Vicky broodily worried.

"What are you looking at, fuckface?" 

Brian looked up, and smiled grimly. Damien was starting to get curious about what he was paying attention to. They were both waiting for Damien's car which wasn't parked that far. All Damien had to do was project a portal back into Hell, and get his subjects to push the car out. When his subjects saw them, their jaws hung low, as they realized that their young prince was about to enter prom with someone. They were especially surprised to see that his date was an undead. Brian politely put his phone back into his pocket, but also because he didn't want Damien to find out his friends' fear of him.

"Don't tell my dads about this," Damien warned, "and you will be rewarded by the end of the day."

"With what?" one of the subjects, a horned, blood red satyr, asked. "We've been exploited by your family for centuries-"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm not buddies with Lucifer, either." He pulled out several monster dollars in his pocket, and waved it in the air. "But for once, I'm willing to make your lives a little easier. You know how much these can be traded for back down there?"

"W-whoa..." the little satyr mumbled. 

"This is what you can get when you listen to my orders," Damien promised, "and if you don't fuck with my day. You know how rare it is for me to be generous."

Brian was confused. "You use currency in Hell?"

"You know how the Chinese burn paper for their deceased relatives?" Damien asked.

"Actually, I do." Brian, who was Korean, remembered how his Chinese friend spoke about burning joss paper. "That enters Hell?"

"Yep. How do you think our economy is doing so well?"

"And... people in Hell use money to buy luxurious items?"

"Well, the Taoists do if they really believe in it. They help fund our business. The sinners stuck with us suffer."

"Wow. I did not expect the Taoists to be correct in their beliefs."

"Everyone's correct in their own way," Damien clarified, "and unfortunately for me and my dads, God is up there, looking for our asses to be served on a divine platter."

The demonic satyr jumped back into the dimensional portal, and Brian and Damien entered the car. It had a bumper sticker, saying '**HAPPY 420 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!' **and a wedding cake surrounded by blunts. There was also an advertisement by a company called 'Dirty Devil's Lettuce', which Brian remembered was in Polly's pocket once. 

"Your parents' anniversary was sponsored by a marijuana company?" Brian asked.

Damien jammed in his car keys, and started the ignition. "They're very prolific. I mean, marijuana was thanks to my dads. They keep the prototype plants for new breeds to be discovered and sold. It's called Devil's Lettuce for a reason. They're smart assholes."

"Assholes?"

"They want me to reign Hell when they reach 800 years for their total years of ruling Hell. They've got it on their fucking calendars and everything."

"That's a long time before then."

"But I don't want to do it. I came here for a reason. Hell became so boring. Sleeping to the sounds of people getting tortured and viewing dismemberment from the balcony of the house was cool, but I began to wonder what was beyond that. I begged and pleaded with them to let me out into the monster realm, and I looked like such a damn weakling. It's so nice up here. There's so much more stuff to burn, I get to kill people or make them my bitch, and I can eat better food. All we have down at Hell is fucking spicy food. It's great and all, but after a couple of years, it gets boring. The lemon duck at school is fucking amazing. I sometimes wish I could fuck it. I would probably burn it with my dick, though."

"Damien..." Minus the part where Damien expressed interest in fucking cafeteria food, it was unexpected for him to reveal such a sensitive and vulnerable side. "I appreciate you revealing this to me."

"The other option was getting educated in the University of Hellshire, and that place is dull. History about Hell, how to protect yourself from exorcism and how to properly charm people into letting them get possessed. Here, you can turn griffins into spaghetti. Isn't that fucking metal?"

"Oh, shit," Brian groaned out. "I forgot to do the homework on griffin spaghetti."

"You've already done the one on mushroom truffle griffin spaghetti."

"I didn't do the tomato sauce version."

"Why the fuck are you mentioning it now? You can do it when you get home. You give a shit about your work more than I do. Heck, I don't even do my homework!"

"How do you know I've finished my last homework?"

"I was in class."

"You were in class?" Damien skipped so often that Brian forgot that they shared the same classes. "Why?"

"My dads remind me every other day that they pay my school fees, even if it barely eats away at their fortune. And... I really wanted to see a griffin be turned into spaghetti. Your presentation was fucking great. I'm surprised you didn't receive a scholarship for that, or get your fingers eaten by that griffin. You were such a badass."

"I'm... glad you enjoyed it."

Damien grinned. "I'll never go hungry again."

* * *

Brian couldn't remember blacking out. 

He raised his head from the car safety cushion, and felt his head. His brain managed to not be released from his cranium, though he was not sure if his head had split open. Even though he was dead, some of his nerves still worked, so he could register 'pain'. He looked at the car's side mirror, and closed his eyes in relief. His head was okay. His neck retained the same injuries. His face did not get anything new to add to its impressive collection of torn off skin.

He looked around more carefully, his vision adjusting hazily to his destination. He could see that there were bright flickering lights that changed colors every three seconds. He could see the familiar walls of the auditorium, and came to view Amira chugging down a casket full of wine, next to an excited and energized Polly. He was at prom, alright. But he could not find Damien. None of the other monsters seemed to be caring at all.

_"Damien, I do not think you should be accelerating-"_

_"Fuck safety, dude! We're going in there, and we're going to fuck everybody's shit up!"_

_I cannot believe he almost took away my second_ _life, _Brian thought. 

"You're awake." Brian heard Vera's voice. He looked at her, as beautiful and sophisticated as always, leaned up next to the crashed car. "You should tell Damien that his choice of automobiles are disgraceful. I could have sworn his fathers are more wealthy than this."

"You are comparing a twenty one year old to his several millennia old parents."

"That is not an excuse for such a despicable vehicle. He should consider contacting one of the Oberlin companies. They may charge him a lot, but he surely needs a change of outlook. It should be about time he stops burning all of his food and burning all banks that he rob before he can even touch the money stored."

Vera was wearing a fancy black dress. One of the sleeves extended to her wrist, while the other was not present. Brian was stunned by such beauty and attire. He knew that Vera was beautiful, but he had never seen her beauty so up close.

"Did you come here alone?"

"I am quite offended that Vicky did not pick me," Vera confessed. "Her intelligence and charm got to me. Her idea of a werewolf business, which sounded ridiculous at the start, turned out to be a hit. I thought that going to prom together would give us more business opportunities, and time to know each other. What a shame. I hate getting my hands dirty, after all. There is no way I will run my fingers through a dirty mutt's fur."

"Scott is at prom, too. You shouldn't say that."

"He's too busy trying to sniff Vicky's ass to pay attention to anything I say. He's an innocent, kind monster, but he would not understand anything I say, if I use my vocabulary right."

"Did Damien ditch me?"

"He thought it was uncool of you to faint. He trained your 'badassery' amount, and thought that you were, he said, 'too much of a pussy', and said that he would try and find gasoline to burn the place down instead."

"What an asshole." Brian shook his head. "Vera, can you help me get back to my dorm?"

"You're leaving already? You may have gotten here an hour ago, but you were unconscious for 90% of it."

"I had fainted for an hour?"

"Mm. It is impressive that you had managed to wake up. With someone like Damien, you would have needed much more than two lives to deal with him. Perhaps this is a lesson that you should not hang out with him."

Brian, when he tilted his head slightly, saw Amira with a table leg between her legs, and her sliding up and down. Such a display was very disturbing. "It seems that I have a poor choice in romantic partners."

"Oh, you should have seen Oz. The amount of fanfiction that poor boy has ingested from that sickening Zoe is appalling. I managed to steal one glimpse of it, and now, I wish I wasn't resistant to poison. I was so desperate to get rid of the imagery, I considered petrifying myself."

"That is very concerning."

"Being with Damien is a death sentence, but being with Zoe will be the ultimate obliteration of every shred of your innocence. According to Oz's resume, he is the personification of fear itself. Surely he can be immune slightly. His eyes, though, have obviously seen too much."

She whipped out her phone, and quickly tapped away. 

"You know Oz's resume?"

"Ever since I've heard the rumor that one of you, or all of you and your friends, have toilet papered the Oberlin dorm, I have made sure to have secured everyone's personal information. None of you bitches will come out alive once I figure out who is responsible."

"Um... sure."

Vera rolled her eyes. "You are no fun."

Brian finally got out of the car, and slowly made his way over to Vera's side. He saw her donating to a Go Fund Me|**MONSTER VERSION: BANNED HUMAN INTERACTIONS PLUG IN **which was for a memory wipe machine. Her eyes met his, and they both nodded.

"I apologize for your loss of innocence."

"For once, I pitied someone else greater than myself." That was the most humble brag that Vera Oberlin had ever made, Brian mentally recorded. "I promise that he will get the beta edition first. If it wipes away the rest of his memories, then that may also be the best at this rate."

"You can handle the content of Zoe's story?"

"I... got aroused at the climax quite fittingly," Vera admitted. "That girl, arguably, has a talent at what she does."

Their hands were quite close together, and Brian almost considered holding hers. He was glad that they had managed to spend time together. 

Before he could ask her to hang out with him more, he heard massive giggling behind him. He whipped his head around, and saw several monsters crowding around Amira humping the table leg of the snack display bench next to the punch. One of them had their phone, ready to record.

"Get away from her," Brian demanded, and rushed to the monster. 

"Too late!" the monster declared, with the biggest shit-eating grin that Brian had ever seen. "She'll be an Internet sensation-"

Brian's fist met the monster's face, and the other hand grabbed a handful of hair tightly. He was pissed. He could not stand for anyone taking advantage of his friends when they were inebriated. Polly was nowhere to be seen. Damien, however, was cheering and hollering at the side.

"Beat her up! Beat her up until she fucking bleeds, ya fucking bastard!" Damien chanted. "Make daddy proud!"

The connotation of 'daddy' was something that even Brian couldn't ignore. Brian yelled out a battle like cry, and slammed the monster hard on the ground. 

He was going to inflict more pain, and teach the stranger a lesson, but he knew he was better than that. He was better than someone depraved of morals. Before he could lose control again, he turned his back on the bully, and grunted.

"I am letting you go to teach you a lesson. You know only a fraction of my anger," Brian warned. The monster panted heavily, and stormed out of the auditorium. Brian, from the corner of his eye, saw Zoe. Her eyes glistened proudly, and Brian knew he had motivated her to start a new story. Starring him. "Oh, no."

"Aw, come on!" Damien cried out. "Fuck, dude, I was about to get my chili popcorn!"

It had been one hour since prom began, and Brian was already feeling like he was losing his shit. He wanted a good prom, not one that appeared worse than his first one. The last one that he had attended before he died. 

He hated thinking about his death, about his family and friends, and how much they likely missed him. Because whenever he did, he felt selfish. The monster realm was wicked, very restless and tons of fun. The human world was where he found less purpose in life. All he could look forward to there was to study, work and hopefully allocate enough assets to get by. Here, he had so many more opportunities. He didn't have to just be restricted to the academic importance of higher education. He didn't even need to go to Spooky High to get a job, though it was recommended anyways. 

What he hated most of all was that he still remembered who he was. Vicky couldn't, and she had fully given up on knowing her past, and allowed herself to be taken into the present. Brian's past was still there, in the front of his mind, seeping through the cracks in his cranium, which were acquired from the exact way he died. He refused to think about it, and prom was bearing a huge catalyst toward his mental conflict.

"Brian?" Vicky said worriedly, and waved her hand in front of his face. She just entered the auditorium through the backdoor, and Scott was busy collecting some punch. "Brian, are you phasing out?"

"Huh?" He snapped back from his terrifying, trapped thoughts. "Oh, Vicky. Hi."

_How worried is she to see me like this? _Brian wondered.

"Brian, what happened?"

"I..." Brian looked at the ceiling. He did this to avoid eye contact, and potentially blurting out too many emotional things. "... I went to prom, shortly before I died. This reminds me of so many memories. Memories that I don't want to remember."

"What? Y-you never told us about this." Vicky was the sweetest, most concerned monster in Spooky High, Brian was convinced. If she was worried, she was sure to express it, and not hold anything back. "We were so excited for you to come, because you weren't so optimistic about it. If this was so traumatic for you, then of course we wouldn't have wanted you to come here."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." She firmly placed her hand on his shoulder. Her outfit, a black and white dress and polka dot skirt, matched her bubbly personality. The blue ribbon around her waist, the flower in her hair and the corsage around her wrist also made her beautifully adorable. "You can tell me anything. I'm free right-" 

"AWOO!" Scott roared, and shifted into his wolf form. He almost ripped right through his immaculately designed suit, and pounced around the auditorium, proceeding to attempt to break to reinforced tables and chairs. "AR! AR! GRR!"

Damien pumped his fists in the air. "Well, if I can't break those stubborn fucking tables, then he can! Go, Scott, go! BREAK THE SHIT OUT OF THOSE TABLES!"

"Um..." Vicky removed her hand, and chuckled nervously. "I guess I'm not free right now. I... need to get the dog biscuits. I heard that helps with werewolves."

"We can talk more next time," Brian assured. "Thanks for your support."

Vicky smiled sweetly, and quickly escaped the auditorium to snatch some pet food. Brian waved her goodbye, and dodged a swipe from the werewolf's paw.

"How did he get like this?" Brian demanded, looking at Damien.

"Why the fuck are you looking at me like that for?" Damien asked. "All I know is that he drank from that punch bowl!"

"Oh, no... did somebody drug it?"

It was just like last prom. He knew too late that someone drugged the punch bowl from then, because he was the unfortunate victim of it.

"Probably." Damien shrugged, and then he grimaced. "Oh, of course. Polly is likely to be the main culprit..."

"Ugh." 

"Scottie!" Vicky whistled, and waved a treat in the air. She squealed when he wagged his tail, and hurriedly followed her to the football pitch. "Scott, calm down. Hey!"

Damien looked around, saw Vicky running away with Scott chasing her, and puffed out some air. "This was so much more boring than expected."

"Thanks for ditching me and almost leaving me for dead back there," Brian sarcastically commented. 

"Is that meant to be a taunt?"

Suddenly, Damien was cornering him, and pressing him against the wall. Brian accidentally got himself into some trouble.

"What makes you assume so?"

"I'm still not over the 'holy music' fiasco. You know that I'm not. Don't think that just because I asked you out, that I'm going to treat you like a fucking prince. I don't do shit like that for losers like you."

"Wow." Brian scoffed. "Wow. I knew you could be mean, but that transcends several levels of asshole altogether."

Damien clutched his fists together. "All this talk makes me wish I could beat your ass up, in so many ways."

"Ugh. Poor manners, terrible attitude and lack of compassion. No wonder why your fathers want you to be prince of Hell. They want you to finally get disciplined. I'd agree with that."

Damien angrily began to swing a left hook, but Brian compensated for that with a sudden head-high kick. Damien stepped back, and wiped off heavily crimson blood from his mouth, even more richly red than his skin.

"What... the..."

"Taekwondo, motherfucker," Brian said, and positioned himself correctly. Monsters crowded around them, eager for their battle. "Us Asian kids are quite impressive, don't you think so?"

Brian couldn't remember how long they had fought for. But when someone pitched in that they intended to live stream it, he knew he was going to be strapped in for a long ride. Damien, in the middle of the fight, took off his shirt because of how sweaty he was. Brian's sweat glands were mostly inactivated, though some of them were able to secrete some liquid. 

Nearing the end of the battle, Damien's chest was littered with heavy bruises from Brian's dominant leg attacks, and Brian managed to flawlessly escape every single one of Damien's infamous death grips. The crowd were beginning to take bets, and the highest amount of money reached 20,000 monster dollars, which was absolutely impressive. Brian began to picture himself selling autographs to a new legion of fanatical supporters. Such reverie created vulnerability.

"Gotcha."

Damien quickly tackled the distracted Brian, and pinned him to the cold auditorium ground. He gripped both of his legs tightly, so that he wouldn't be able to escape by using any of his powerful moves. Brian struggled, and even tried to use his arms, before he realized they were too weak. 

"You got me so worked up," Damien admitted, and leaned down to meet his face. "Fucking hell, you're better than I thought..."

That was where Brian got kissed, on the cold auditorium floor, with many monsters watching in risk of heavy nosebleeds. By that, Zoe in particular. Zoe allegedly took fifteen pictures of the couple on her smartphone, and started to develop ship names for both of them. Brian didn't care. He cared that he was being intimate with another being after so long, and the comfort of being in the proximity of someone else so closely warmed his dead heart.

He could have sworn he heard a beat from it. Just at least once. Or perhaps that was Damien's.

There were also monsters filming the event before them, too. Brian moved his face away, and blushed. He didn't think that blushing was even possible.

"Oh my gosh!" Brian raised his head slightly to see Oz, clasping his face and almost looking as though he was about to faint. "Brian, this can count as public indecency!"

"We should really leave-" Brian began. Damien hoisted him up to carry him. "Da-"

Damien sprinted to the bathrooms.

* * *

Brian would have hooked up with Damien if he wasn't so pissed. He knew that he would have. Damien, however, fucked up big time.

Before Damien could put his hands down his tight pants, Brian pushed him away. He was up against the sink, and was about to rush into the big decision of losing his monster virginity. When he was still a human, he had lost his virginity already. But he was not willing to lose his so-called secondary virginity on Damien. 

"Just gotta-" Brian pulled away from Damien's embrace. "Aw, come on, what's the big fuss about?"

"We are not having sex in the bathroom," Brian insisted.

"Then should we go back to yours or my dorm?" Damien suggested.

"We shouldn't rush into things."

"I mean, shit, right. I forgot to bring condoms and lube-"

"We are not having sex, period."

"What? Brian, babe, are you serious?"

"You treated me horribly today," Brian complained. "That's enough to turn me off from this."

"Even hooking up and never seeing each other again?"

"We will see each other again."

"Because you're that good in bed?" Damien winked.

"No, you idiot. Because we share the same classes."

"Unless I skip them."

"Unless you skip them. Also, are you even attracted to me as a monster?"

"I mean, you're sexy as hell. You fight like a champion and you're bold as fuck. That's what attracts me to monsters."

"And anything else?"

"Everything about you is so badass. I-I want to know more about you, Brian. I really do."

"Then why do you treat me so poorly?"

"Look, just because I think I want to bang you, and split you apart with my dick, doesn't mean I can just absolve you or your friends of your responsibility of giving me a spiritual imbalance because of gospel music. You guys know that gospel music is one of the most irritating methods to drain my soul. It's horribly abrasive."

"... split me apart with your dick?"

"I am very creative when it comes to that." He tried shoving his hands in his tight pants again. "Brian, I'm losing my head thinking about you. Please don't tell me I have to wank myself to sleep again."

"You're wanking yourself to sleep again," Brian declared, and exited the bathroom.

"Hey, before you leave!" Damien ran to him, and grabbed his arm. "You phased out in the auditorium for a while, and Vicky had to snap you out of it. What the fuck happened there? After that, you dared to fight me. You tend to stay away from fights and physical stuff."

_Am I telling him this? Goodness, I think I am. Stop me, please. I can't hold this in any longer. It sounds like I'm constipated, doesn't it? Uh..._

"The same day that prom ended was the same day that I died."

"Fuck, man." Damien let go of his arm. "That's... you remember that?"

"I remembered a crash, and shards of glass slashing my face as I laid there, broken." He pointed to his face. "I was battered up. Hurt to the point where I wished that I died. I was there for countless hours before the paramedics arrived. But it was too late for them to save me. I'm stuck here because of that. I don't know how I've managed to have been given a second chance of life, but you could have nearly taken that away from me, in a similar fashion to how I died."

"You died in a car accident?"

Brian nodded. "Because somebody spiked the punch, I couldn't drive properly back."


	3. Fuck Monogamy!

Prom ended, Brian and his friends went to sleep, and met at Brian's place again.

"I got ice cream!" Vicky announced, with a shopping bag around her shoulder. "Which flavor do you want, Oz?"

"I'm cool with anything," Oz said. "I mean, my taste buds are quite adjustable to anything."

"What do you have?" Brian asked.

Vicky grinned, and opened her bag. "Mint chocolate, blue raspberry, creme brulee, chili pepper and vanilla."

"So you purposely went color coordinated?" Brian realized.

"Yep! It's a celebration! We all get represented!"

"Why did you get vanilla?"

"It's underrepresented. It looked so lonely in the supermarket freezer, that I had to get it. Also, I know you like vanilla."

She passed him the carton, and he held it delicately. He could feel the cold surface of the paperboard, but not enough for him to flinch if he held it too long.

"Where are your spoons, again?" Oz asked.

"Uh..." 

Brian looked around himself. He was a lazy monster. He often forgot to clean up his room. Next to the main door, his clothes hung lopsided in his open closet. The bathroom was adjacent from his closet. His dorm did not have a kitchen, like the others. This was because he got hungry much slower than ordinary monsters, even Vicky. This was because Vicky had constant electrical impulses being registered in her brain thanks to her supply of electricity. Brian's natural electrical impulses, however, were not fast to register his hunger. But when he got hungry, he would be very hungry. He was known for wolfing down cafeteria food in enormous amounts, and that would sustain him until the next day. 

At the end of the room, adjacent of the door, was Brian's desk, with all of his homework and notes. 

"Wait," Vicky tried to remember, "you don't have utensils, do you?"

"I don't think so," Brian remembered, "sorry."

Vicky searched through her shopping bag again, and fetched several plastic spoons. Oz's primary shadow buddy, on his shoulder, grinned happily, and waved its hands around. Oz patted its head softly, to calm it down.

"Where's Amira?" Oz asked. 

Amira then burst into the dorm, with her right hand on her forehead and left one on her stomach. 

"Sorry, I'm late, guys," Amira apologized. "I am nursing a headache and a possible fever, which I have never had before."

Amira turned around, and put her hand through the hole in Brian's door. "Am I still drunk, or is there a fucking hole in Brian's door?"

Vicky and Oz turned around, and gasped as they noticed the hole. Brian was surprised that they hadn't noticed it earlier, when they entered his home.

"What happened?" Vicky asked. 

"How have you two not noticed it before?" Brian asked.

"The inside of your dorm seems to fit the outer surface color of the door," Vicky guessed. "Also, we don't come here that often..."

"We visit here every other week."

"... right. But what happened?"

"It was Damien, wasn't it?" Oz guessed. "There are burn marks around the hole."

Oz was a smart cookie.

"Yep," Brian confirmed. "I now have a permanent peephole."

"You can report this to the principal-"

"Nah."

"No, I mean, he can help you replace the door. It's a quick process."

"How would you know that?"

"I stressed out during an exam, and I accidentally blew my door into pieces," Oz admitted. "I handle my stress much better now."

Vicky wrapped her arms around the very personification of fear to comfort him anyways. 

"Wait..." Amira gasped. "Then... what happened between you and Damien that caused this?"

"He accurately guessed that we installed Hark! The Herald Angel Sings in his iPod."

"How? We covered our tracks pretty well?"

"It's because when you bent down to pick up your necklace, your hair burnt his table leg."

"Shit!" Amira cursed. She was the cussing sailor of the group. "Well, that explains why I smelled some smoke when we left."

"I'm glad you're okay," Vicky said. "He didn't touch you or anything?"

_Not in a violent way_, Brian thought. Oz looked at him strangely. _Well, if I don't talk about it, Oz will. What do I do...?_

"I'm fine," Brian assured. "He did take me to prom, so he wasn't as pissed as I thought."

"Oh, right, he did!" Vicky bonked herself on the head. "Sorry, I can't remember much today! I think I'm still tired after trying to coax Scott away from murdering a student."

"Did it work?"

"Mostly. He managed to tear into the guy's calf before I pulled him away. I sent the guy to the nurse's office, and I think he got stitched."

"Oof." Brian remembered getting stitches before. He was a sporty person, and got torn ligaments all the time. "That sucks."

"At least nobody died."

Amira sat down on the ground, and everyone else joined her. "Whatever he does, he can't kill me. I can beat his ass if I try hard enough, I bet."

"Good for you," Brian mumbled.

"Oh, I forgot to ask! I've been dying to know!" Amira said. "Have any of us, I repeat, any of us gotten laid yesterday?"

"I rushed back home to get bleach," Oz said. "So, no."

"Did you find any?" 

"No."

"Well, if the table leg that I viciously assaulted with my crotch rubbing counts, then I did," Amira decided. "But it definitely doesn't count much. Vicky?"

"Definitely not, but I felt a lot of adrenaline when I was chasing down Scott."

"Brian?"

"No."

"You liar!" Oz countered. "You were hooking up with Damien on the auditorium floor!"

"Oz!" Brian hissed. Vicky and Amira, though, were already peering through him. "Well, it didn't last long."

"You were making out for five minutes," Oz said.

"Really?"

Amira giggled. "Brian got laid, huh?"

"No, I didn't. Oz, making out is not the same as getting laid."

"Then what about when you two rushed to the bathroom?" Oz demanded.

Now Amira and Vicky were getting suspicious. Brian groaned.

"We were about to hook up-"

"Whoa!" Amira's mouth hung open. "That's... you nearly lost your virginity in a public area."

"What stopped you?" Vicky asked, raising her hand as though Brian was a teacher. "Was it the wolf pack? Other monsters walking in? The Interdimensional Prince trying to marry you?"

"I refused him sex," Brian confessed, "because he was an asshole to me."

"He's an asshole to everybody," Amira pointed out.

"He really pushed it yesterday. If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't have minded hooking up with him. Too bad for him that I have enough self-respect for myself to tolerate his antics."

"You go, girl!" Vicky cheered, and took a spoonful of blue raspberry.

Amira scanned the chili ice cream covering, and saw the brand. "Whoa. LaVey's Specialties: Fire Ice Cream. Speak of the literal devil."

"Please don't summon him that way," Brian pleaded. "I don't want to see him. He'll be pissed at me for making him wank himself to sleep."

"He'll kill you."

"I know he'd prefer to sleep with me first."

"You are hot, so that's not surprising."

"Not as hot as Damien." He meant that literally. "He burns his food before he eats it. His insides must be piping hot lava."

"But you're hot enough for him to want to bang you. He'll totally be oozing sexual frustration by the time he gets to class today. And it's all because of you, Brian, you master seducer!"

"Hmph." 

Amira read the bottom note of the ice cream covering loudly. "'The cold always bothers us. Fuck you, Elsa.' The LaVeys watch Disney movies?" 

Brian thought about his younger sister, who loved the hell out of Frozen. She would have been pissed to hear such a violent attack on her favorite frost queen. Luckily, they were not living close to each other anymore.

_Luckily, _Brian internally grumbled bitterly.

Oz's shadow buddy shivered in embarrassment, and Oz's eyebrows lowered. He was ashamed. "I'm sorry for exposing you like that, Brian. It's not for me to say."

"At least you acknowledge that, Oz. I forgive you."

Oz, Brian knew, was grinning. It just was difficult to figure that out.

Everyone was clearly sad that they had yet to lose their monster virginity to anyone. The loss of monster virginity was especially for Brian and Vicky. Brian had made it clear before the bet that he was in a relationship before he died. Vicky discovered before the bet that her corpse was dug out of a random grave and resurrected by a massive lightning strike, thus making her the female equivalent of Frankenstein (to no one's surprise). So, it was possible that she got laid before she died, with the hopes that it wasn't the other way around.

Amira was brought up in a strict household, so in Spooky High, she let out her rebellious nature. She let her hair run wild, she dressed up more sensually and she gave less fucks. Because of her strict upbringing, she was not expected to have sex until she got married, which she hated the idea of. 

Oz, as the harbinger of perpetual terror and fear, never thought about it. He was too busy ensuring that everyone was given a maintained terror quota and fulfilled it.

"Some people are into the weirdest stuff," Vicky said aloud, clearly gesturing to Zoe outside the window. Brian did not notice that she stood up. "She can't stop keeping her eyes on her laptop. The way that she's typing her keyboard is clearly indicative that she's writing more fanfic."

"Don't say that about her!" Oz defended. "She's a sweetheart, underneath her perverted nature."

Everyone was stunned that Oz felt attached to Zoe enough to defend her. They all shut up.

Oz's shadow buddy (who sticks around him at all costs) rose from its position, and peered out of the window. Oz quickly stood up, and closed the curtains of the window. He turned around, smiled (through his shadow buddy), and sat back down to eat his creme brulee flavored ice cream.

_I miss being alive, _Brian found himself thinking randomly. _I miss those days. I miss not requiring to drown myself in deodorant in case I still retained the smell of decaying flesh, I miss tasting food more properly, I miss not worrying about whether or not a hanging hamstring got caught in a doorway. Gosh, imagine being alive again..._

But that didn't feel fair to Vicky, somehow. She adjusted to her new life because she had no memory of her past life. Even if she looked like she didn't mind, she was clearly upset about not knowing about her past, and having to discover herself at an excruciating pace. She sometimes remained confused about what she liked or wanted. It was scary and sad to meet her initially, so lost and unsure. To see her rejuvenated and more confident was a pleasure for everyone to see. That didn't fix everything, but it was better than her initial state.

_Mom, dad... sister. Oh my god, no... stop thinking about them! You can't go back! You may love them and need them in your cold dead heart; that doesn't change the fact that you will never see them again! Brian, just stop fucking thinking about this-_

Brian quickly scooped a huge scoop of ice cream into his mouth, savoring the mint chocolate as it swirled around his mouth. He preferred vanilla more, if he was honest. It gave the same result, which never ended in disappointment.

Brian also knew of certain other people who did not mind not being alive. One of them, of course, was Polly. She was able to knock back grams of cocaine and stay steady on her feet, and produce as much as she wanted. The chemistry lab was her most favorite place to manufacture her drugs. She was the fifth richest monster that Brian knew. Cocaine was a shockingly excellent business in Spooky High. Once you got hooked, you couldn't really get off of it. There were no rehab centers nearby (or at all), so the plentiful number of addicts in school just kept piling up. 

But you may be wondering, where could anyone buy such illegal, erm, 'medication'? From Valerie Oberlin, the shopkeeper and no one other than Vera's sister, consistently sprawled around different locations so that her business would remain out of suspicion or get monitored. The school had a no-drug policy, but no one ever cared about following it. 

Damien was technically rich too, if his fathers' funds counted. Brian's skin heated up (a very rare occurrence) at the thought of Damien, and tore open the container of vanilla to scoop it in his mouth. He couldn't gain weight, but he could somewhat digest the ice cream. He knew he didn't need to go into detail if he wanted to keep friends, so he never talked about it. Peristalsis wasn't the kindest natural process of his body that he tolerated as well as others.

_You know, I really hate feeling like this, _he thought. _It has been a long time since I last had sex. It wasn't that tempting to turn him down when his attitude turned me off quicker than reading a Christian magazine telling me I've sinned again. Though did that ever really turn me off? It was sometimes exciting to feel as though I did something wrong. Shit, will this make me hard?_

"You know what?" Amira piped up. "Fuck monogamy."

"Okay," Brian said.

"No, I mean, let's fuck and date whoever we want! Who cares if it's more traditional to stick with only one monster for the rest of your life?"

"Miranda," everyone else said, knowing that she was a virgin waiting for a prince to finally give her a poisonous apple. 

"Well, if it fits for her, then sure. But we are young, primal beings! We can't just be expected to tie down to one individual like tradition states anymore. Like, seriously? Only sticking with one monster for the rest of our lives without the option to experiment? There is a reason why there are many of us in the world. This calls for serial dating! We are horny, idiotic motherfuckers! One thing is for sure, that when we get down and dirty, we will use protection!"

Oz scratched his head. "Do... I need protection?"

"Can you even have sex?"

"I guess... I have existed for almost forever, and only recently I have learnt about mortal sexuality. No matter what happens, I will be here, timeless."

"That sounds so beautifully sad."

"I am born from fear. I suppose what I said was meant to haunt you." Oz raised his hands up, and hissed. He chuckled when Amira huddled in a corner, terrified. "I'm kidding!"

"Whew!" Amira scooted over to the others again. "Good! I was worried that you would suck the soul out of me, and not in a good way. I'm saving that for Polly, anyways."

"Huh?" Vicky turned to Amira, her mouth coated in melted ice cream. "You're going out with her again?"

"Yeah, she loved me! She sent me a handwritten note, promising me some 'rewards' and 'fun' if we date once more. I can't wait. Life feels good."

"You look so relaxed," Oz noticed. "Will... will following this serial dating view make me feel less stressed?"

"I recommend therapy more," Amira said, "but it can if you're not willing to tie down to just one monster!"

"Then, I'll do this!" Oz declared. "As fear, I don't tie down to one individual anyways. I scare everyone!"

"Great!" Amira turned to Vicky. "Vick, how about you?"

"Sure, I guess," Vicky decided. "After that ordeal with Scott, I feel bad about leaving Vera behind. I'm gonna try and hang out with her more."

"Bri?"

"Don't call me Bri," Brian demanded.

"Well, are you going through with what we have proposed with each other?"

Brian looked around at his friends' excited faces, all smeared with ice cream. Brian knew that everyone was open to experimentation, which he thought wasn't an issue. He himself had only dated one person before he died, who he was about to break up with anyways. He was discovering more about himself, and realized that he also liked boys. When he met Oz, he had a crush on him for a bit. His cute, mysterious nature allured everyone within his vicinity. Being told he was non-binary did not change anything. 

He always wanted to experiment. He was on the same page as his friends.

"Let's do it."

They all joined hands, and raised them in the air. They were going to fulfill their idiotic and horny fantasies together.


	4. Get Me Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter delves more into Brian's thoughts and emotions. It will start off serious and delve into the usual silly content. I was contemplating putting the content of this into another chapter, but I have decided to keep this here. I want to make clear that Brian used to be human, and as a human, he has gone through common fears and worries. This also shows that Brian's concerns and feelings are essential and integral to the plot.
> 
> Seeing a bit of Polly's background made me wonder how other monsters may have felt about being in the Monster Realm, especially those who had died and came back, like Vicky and Brian. It must have been terrifying to have been put in an unfamiliar world and having to adjust to a world where things like the paranormal are to be expected instead of denounced as crazy.

Brian dreaded going back to school. He knew there was a chance that Damien would torch him and his friends with the flames of unrequited lust and pure desire to wreak havoc. He didn't even need an excuse to set them alight. Fire was an eternal part of Damien, and he was in love with it. Brian appreciated self-love, though Damien's case seemed to go much too far. It was always funny to see someone else get hurt if you never knew them. But if you knew them, cherished and loved them with all of your heart, even the most minor of injuries could worry you. The smallest of nicks could become scars if something grievous was added. 

Brian and his friends were over a burning bridge of lava with all of the top monsters when it came to conflict and distrust. Except Scott, because his heart was luckily too big for that. Brian hadn't seen Liam for a while, Vera was already onto tracking whoever messed with her and Damien could ignite the fire to consume them all, drag them all to Hell and get them eaten by Cerberus, the three headed dog of the Underworld. From rumors, Cerberus was actually too domesticated to do such vile and cruel things, and preferred the LaVey branded dog food. 

_We probably shouldn't have fucked with them, and thrown the stupid Impossible Challenge list in the garbage, _Brian thought. 

He tried to make the weekend as long as possible. He tried to look for the most boring activities possible. So he watched through an hour of the most boring television advertisements that he could find, but that made him daydream through them, which killed an hour of time quicker than he expected. He finished his homework, and found that he enjoyed it, which made time pass quicker as well.

As someone with no family anymore, he couldn't really leave school much. He knew that most monsters left during the weekends to go back to their families' homes. Brian luckily did not need to pay for the dorms or for school, as he managed to enter with a scholarship. He applied for it after he stumbled across the school, and was spotted by Coach when PE classes were taken outdoors due to the gym being renovated. He vaguely remembered much from his resurrection. He remembered waking up, away from the roads that he died and far away from wherever he was familiar with. Wherever it was, it was not anywhere close to his home state or town. He remembered looking down, and his howls echoing throughout the forests as he realized he became a reanimated, partially decayed zombie.

* * *

_ **The past is hard to remember sometimes.** _

_Coach brought him over to Principal Giant Spider, which wasn't common for students to experience. Brian ran his fingers along the manticore leather of the chairs, before having his arm jerked away. The force was almost enough to pop his socket from his shoulder, which had gotten loosened due to his partial state of decay. Brian explained his situation in great panic, and shrieked when he begged to be informed about what the hell was happening to him. He couldn't imagine anthropomorphic entities existing, and being before him. He thought he was dreaming, and hoped that he was crazy. _

_The Principal then explained to him that he was no longer a human. He was now a monster. Brian remembered falling on his knees, and almost breaking down. He was held up by the Coach, who gently suggested to him that he could stay with the school. Getting educated in the Monster Realm would help him integrate better into the new society that he was placed in._

_That was where he found the **Scholarship for the Lost**, which was a rare scholarship allowed for used-to-be-humans that were converted into monsters. Should they luckily be able to find Spooky High, they were able to claim a position there. It was the same scholarship that Vicky used to obtain a position there._

_He took it, obviously. He was a lost monster, alone by himself. He had nothing else that he could possibly use. And there was still that damned, small hope that he could get out somehow. _

* * *

_There's an afterlife, then_, Brian thought. _An afterlife where you're not fully rejuvenated, spiritually or physically. You're just there, wishing for a blissful end that has you happy, and excited for something beyond this. This is it.There's nothing for me after Spooky High. I may get a job, get married or whatever, but I will never, ever be whole._

Brian regularly had depressive thoughts and episodes, which he had never discussed with anyone before. He tended to hide it away and not talk to anyone about it. This was just another day of repressing his feelings. He knew there was more to his life than how he felt, but he didn't know how to find much hope when his previous life was so many miles, and another lifetime away. He never had the chance to say goodbye to his friends or family. 

He knew that he needed to exit his dorm, and talk to someone, instead of sitting in his soup of sadness and perpetual wonder. He knew that it wasn't his fault that his feelings were so conflicted. He was normal, and his feelings were the closest anchor to what was left of his humanity. He was lucky: he was both monster and human, and knew and understood both worlds. He was glad he did, as it expanded his worldview, and gave him more insight. He just wished he could reassume his mortality again. But no matter how many times he wished, hoped and begged, he could never find the opening or opportunity to find a way out. He felt trapped. He thought that no form of talk would help him.

He didn't want to talk to the school social worker. He didn't know if she was reliable, and he wasn't sure which therapist would suit him either. He didn't know if there were even any therapists in the Monster Realm. If no one provided rehab, he realized, it was less likely that there were mental health professionals. But if he asked around for mental health professionals, he worried, he would be perceived negatively. The human realm was vicious when it came to mental health already. How would monsters respond?

"I don't want to be stuck here," he whispered to himself. He had said it so, so many times. "God, if you exist, please save me... I don't want to be here anymore..."

* * *

Exiting the dorm could be difficult sometimes. Brian loved to sleep and take naps, which was how he usually spent his weekends. But that day, he wanted it to go as painfully slow as possible. He wanted a day when he could remain awake, and take in more instead of taking it for granted. He knew it sounded stupid, though he wanted to try it for the heck of it.

He knew that bikes were easy to rent in Spooky High. They were chained near the car park, and encouraged to be used instead of the exhaustive fumes that get churned out of the usual automobiles. The forests surrounding the school costed money to upkeep and maintain. Invisible gardeners were rumored to have been employed by the school to take care of them. 

_Now what would Antony Flew think about that? _Brian thought. He used to read a lot about Philosophy.

He put in one Monster dollar into the necessary coin slot. He made sure to carefully slot it in, ever since hearing about the importance of caring for other partially sentient beings, which was influenced by Calculester. He cooed at the machine, which made him look foolish, but he worried about the day when robots would rule over the world, and even the Monster Realm. Monsters could interact with humans, though not always, and it was somewhat discouraged. 

"What the fuck are you seducing that machine for?"

Brian whipped his head around, to see Damien peering at him strangely. He gulped the last few drops of soda that he had in his mouth still, which were harder to swallow since his salivary glands were only partially activated. 

"Calculester's presentation speech about why the robots need to be respected terrified me," Brian stated. "I'm worried that shoving this coin too hard equates to sexual assault."

"You're too nice." Damien snatched the coin from his fingers, and shoved it directly in the machine. The machine seemed to purr, and then emitted a green check mark authorizing the use of the bicycle. "I've used this machine several times. She's really into some rough and kinky shit. So don't worry about shoving it in quick and fast."

"By use, you mean...?"

"I didn't fuck it... er... her, I guess. Calculester tried to appeal to me to be nicer by demonstrating this machine to me, and putting the coin in slow. I didn't listen to him, and yet the machine seemed to really enjoy what I did. So you see? Being rough can be nice with consent."

"You don't stop punching monsters, and you never will, though."

"Their faces are asking to be punched."

"Whatever you say."

Damien turned him around, and stroked his cheek. "Ya know, I could be rough with you too, if you give me your consent..."

"If you prove that you are truly sorry."

"Sure, if you can finally admit to me about that holy music fiasco."

"I didn't do it," he quickly lied.

"I'm kinda too horny to care anymore. Well, for now. If you let me tap that, then I'll be more than willing to think about giving you another chance."

_Good, _Brian internally thought in relief, and then shook in surprise. _Wait, what? No, no... maybe? Agh!_

"You bike around often?"

"Somewhat. I like finding new destinations to burn down."

"By yourself-"

"Boo!" Polly screamed, and seized Brian's shoulders from behind. "Bet ya didn't expect me to be seen!"

"I thought you were going to be with Amira?"

"I wanna build her up with anticipation first. I heard that love, if that's what she's feeling, gives a similar feeling to being high on cocaine, and since I don't want her to overdose yet, I'm going to make her burst with her affection toward me!"

'Yet' was very worrying to hear. "You go biking often?"

"What's with the lame ass questions?" Damien demanded. "Stop being so kind!"

"It's called having manners, dipshit."

Brian was naturally sarcastic, though he tended to think he had more 'sophisticated' ways of wording than what he just said. 

"Now that's what I like to hear!" Damien said proudly. "Here, let me pay your fee."

"You really want to fuck me that bad?"

Polly smiled excitedly. "You two are going to fuck? Wha? Dude, I have so much good shit that you should take before you screw!"

"Uh..."

"Y'know, poppers, amphetamines, Viagra, a product called Maca-"

"Amphetamines? That's usually used in Adderall. Isn't that for people with ADHD?"

"It also apparently increases your sex drive and delays orgasms!"

Damien shoved his coin into the machine, and grinned when the machine appeared to moan heavily. That made Brian worried about how Calculester may sound like in bed. He was thinking about going after him soon. 

"Hey Damie!" Polly shouted. "Does your groin still hurt?"

"Not as much as the fresh wounds that Brian knocked on me recently," Damien stated. "Does that help?"

"Eh, it can. Fighting sounds pretty hot to start the process! And if your groin still hurts, I think that'll make cumming even better!" 

_Okay, I'm very disturbed, _Brian thought. _Imagine getting off while your freaking genitals feel like they're on fire. Wait, but aren't Damien's... you know... always at high temperature? Oh, Brian, don't fall into a perverted trap!_

"I'll think about it." Damien smirked and winked at Brian. 

_Shit, now Polly wants to know everything. And Damien wants to rock my socks off. Literally. Should I really hang out with these two? They're bad influences._

_Says the one who used to do all kinds of weird shit in high school!_ Brian's inner conscience jabbed back. _You're really trying to hoist yourself on a moral high horse? You're in a different world, with different individuals with different rules! Understand that!_

"Come on, noob," Damien ordered Brian, and got on his rented bike. "Let's explore the city together."

"Yeah, Green!" Polly teased. "Amira has said quite a bit about you. I'd love to explore more of your quirks. I can probably hook you up with other monsters like you!"

Brian got on his rented bike, and pedaled with them out of school. 

* * *

Brian remembered when he was sixteen, he was already smoking weed and hitchhiking around different parts of his state with close friends. He managed to cut himself away from them soon after, though the habit of smoking stayed a bit longer. He was surprised that he got over it easier than he expected. He felt unhappy constantly relying on that and getting extremely hungry after a short while. His parents were trusting him less, and his sister kept wondering why he had less energy than usual. Weed, he knew, was nothing compared to what Polly produced on the daily. Since she was dead, like him, there was no worry about her 'dying' again. 

Brian felt invincible in those golden years. He didn't know those were to be his last. But pedaling on his bike and feeling the wind brush and cradle his face made him feel like he was back in those golden years, just for a bit. He looked at his left, and saw Damien and Polly happily zooming through the not-so-busy roads. There were barely any cars nearby, and they were the only bikers.

"There's not a lot of monsters around," Brian noted aloud. 

"I burnt down and vandalized the main town that uses this road!" Damien said proudly. "Fuck those guys for ruining the environment around us, amirite?"

"What did they do?"

"They became religious! I still wonder how they managed to learn about God. Like, are there monster missionaries around? I'm still very baffled! The aura around that place almost killed me, I tell ya!"

"Ya know, I wouldn't have minded that they were religious if they weren't so superstitious," Polly said. "They thought that ghouls needed to be exorcised immediately. They almost sucked me in a vacuum when I crashed their party last week! I was so sad to see that, because the party was getting so lit!"

"Please don't say 'lit'," Brian said, slightly out of tune with modern terminology. 

"Unless it's 'lit' on fire, right?" Damien asked cheekily.

"Sure. That's more literally appropriate."

"You sound like Liam," Polly commented. "Just imagine him with us, like, saying, 'ugh, that's so mainstream of you losers,' and, 'leave me alone while I make food porn for the Monster World to enjoy and nut over.'"

Polly and Damien belly laughed over that. Brian wanted to defend Liam, but Polly's impression made perfect sense. 

"Hey, noob," Damien gestured to Brian, "wanna get something to drink?"

Brian could see that there was a gas station nearby, with a sign that said MONSTER GAS STATION: 99TH STORE AND COUNTING, which sold the usual snacks and beverages, and of course petrol to fuel up cars and motorbikes. From an economic perspective, Damien could have run this store out of business because of the destruction of the town that usually buy products there. In a moral perspective, Damien could have easily blown the shop up.

Brian was about to say no, because he assumed that Damien would find the easy vulnerability of the shop too tempting to resist.

"Fuck yeah!" Polly, before even hearing what Brian had to say, drove straight to the station, so Brian had to follow her. 

It was unbearably cold inside. If Brian could have regulated his temperature properly, he would have enjoyed it. The air cons had been cranked to the lowest possible temperatures. Brian remembered that whenever he would leave the air con on when it wasn't needed to, his parents would punish him. His inner conscience wanted to guide his arms and smack the cashier. He knew that it was irresponsible to do that, though he couldn't help it sometimes. He used to love the cold, and he retained similar feelings of it. 

Damien was unbearably pissed at the temperature more than Brian was. He was a demon from hell for a reason. "Yo, Brian! Hand me your jacket for a moment, will ya?"

"Why?"

"I'm fucking freezing, dude! And Polly is wearing nothing else but her usual attire. Help a demon out here!"

"For what?"

"I'll rent it, okay? I'll fucking rent it! If you leave me like this, I'll blow this place up!"

The cashier, who was a pretty brunette naiad, flinched upon hearing that. The commotion could get them kicked out, or arrested. The emergency phone was right beside her, next to the colorful slushie machine. It was quite easy for Brian to identify her as a naiad, as when he researched about the Vanderbilt republic upon meeting Miranda for the first time, he saw that naiads (water nymphs) used to populate the area and maintain the water, before they mysteriously disappeared. The Historical Files of Monsters unfortunately didn't have enough information to cover on what occurred. She looked like the images taken of the naiads, and she didn't have gills.

"How much?"

"Goodness sake, I'll give two Monster Dollars a minute!"

Brian, true to the offer, stripped off his jacket and threw it to the demon to wear. 

"You did not use the Lord's name in vain. I am impressed."

"Ever since I have been exposed to that fucking holy song, any mention of You-know-who gets my ass set alight by divine singeing! It's hot enough!" Damien viewed the zombie in front of him, unused to him without his signature jacket. "You look different without this."

Polly picked out various bottles of beer, put some back, and took out more. "I'm on a hangover, so I can't drink as much alcohol as I want."

Brian counted the bottles that Polly held. Ten exactly. "That's still a lot... of beer..."

"Oh, please! This barely counts as a week's supply. And I still have shrooms to tide me over. When we leave at our stop, I can introduce them to you!"

_No, thanks! _Brian was worried about the long term effects it could have on his body, and since he couldn't clear it as properly, the inebriation may last forever. 

He looked around for another distraction from the worrying thought, and found a slushie endorsement above the cashier station. During weekends, slushies had a discount of only one Monster Dollar, with a possible buy-one-get-one-free offer if he was a member. He wasn't a member, so he stuck with the tempting offer of a slushie. He may have been feeling cold, but nothing could stand between him and a slushie on a perfect summer day. 

"Hey, Damien!" Brian called out. "Can you pass me the rent money now?"

"Uh... hold on..." Damien, who was wearing two jackets piled together, looked ridiculous as he searched for his wallet. "Ah, fuck! How long has it been again?"

"Three minutes," the aggravated naiad measured. 

"... okay." Damien pulled out a ten dollar bill, and passed it to Brian. "That's all I got that's closest to six. Cents are too annoying."

"I'll pay you back the change as soon as I can," Brian promised, thinking about a possible part time job that he could take to fulfill that. "Thanks."

He walked up to the cashier, and noticed that she was wearing a pin of the Kingdom that Miranda belonged to. He handed her the money, and she proceeded to prepare the drink. 

"Which flavor?" she asked.

"Uh... wildberry."

"Swedish or?"

"There are multiple versions of wildberry?"

"Please answer the question."

"Swedish, then."

"Good, that's all we've got."

The pin had him too curious to ignore it.

"You live in the Vanderbilt republic?" Brian asked. 

The naiad turned her head around. She was as beautiful as classical paintings depicted, and mightily scary with her scowl and hardness. "I used to, before the Vanderbilt republic was formed. Us water nymphs used to be treasured centuries ago, until the mermaids and mermen found that they could utilize technology to drain our homes and drive us away. We were the original deities, and they robbed us. The rivers were our life source, yet they killed many of us to build fountains, swimming pools and decorations. All underwater. Such despicable and closed minded actions are unforgivable."

"But you are wearing the pin?"

"This looks very similar to the current flag, but it is different. This pin is from the republic that used to respect us." She almost looked human, besides the fact that she had a machine hooked to her side that constantly supplied her with water. "Now, it is under the disgusting hands of the Vanderbilts. They took away so much from us."

"So you're a refugee?"

"You can say that." She almost seemed to be crying. "I had to flee my own home. I loved it there. To listen to the sounds of rushing water, and to feel my life source attached to it again would be wonderful, even for a moment. If I saw the smug sons of bitches who ordered us away to perish, I will rip them apart. I still have the divine power to carry out the destruction that my sisters would want me to accomplish. I just haven't been able to unleash it."

_Woe to Miranda. We've got to warn her. And... shit. To live through centuries of being persecuted and not being able to return to your own place. Is this realm really that different from the human one?_

"Your eyes are wandering," the naiad noted.

"Just waiting for my slushie."

"It's done." She handed it to him. "I am surprised that you have taken concern and interest in my story. It is of great pleasure that someone cared about me, and have known of Monster history. I know many who are very ignorant."

"What is your name?" he asked. "Surely a naiad like you must be well known."

"My name is Castalia."

Brian observed the cup. It did not look accommodating to a slushie. It had a red exterior and a flat cover, just like any other fast food cup. The slushie didn't look like a slushie either. It looked like regular soda. The slushie machine was probably broken. He considered asking for a straw, until he remembered that he was talking to a sea entity, who would likely be very offended by the suggestion. She seemed to read his mind, because she opened the cash register and pulled out a pale, strange looking straw.

"It's made out of bamboo," she assured. "I wouldn't allow anyone to buy plastic. And it almost looks exactly like a plastic straw, and has a similar texture. I am, after all the naiad of wisdom."

"Thank you, Castalia-"

"Hey, derp shit!" Damien, bored and impatient, called out. He was halfway through the door, and Polly was struggling to hold all of her bottles. "When the fuck are you done?"

"Coming!" Brian yelled, and followed him outside the store. 

* * *

"What the shit was that?" Damien questioned, after tossing Brian back his jacket.

"I found out the cashier was a naiad." Brian put the jacket back on. "She's wearing the pin of the republic before the Vanderbilt one, so I identified her immediately."

"A water nymph? The fuck? I thought they went extinct."

"Me too." Brian turned around, intent on not letting Castalia listen to their words. "She hates the Vanderbilts. They took away her home. We've gotta warn Miranda as soon as possible. If she finds out that she's in our school-"

"Fucking hell, don't say it here!"

"I have bad memory. If I don't say it now-"

"Well, how do you expect me to remember it later as well? Tragedy doesn't affect me well enough, but damn it if Miranda gets hurt! We've been thinking about conquering some territory when we graduate. It'll be the best fucking place ever! And if she's gone, how are we going to fulfill that?"

"And since the naiads have slipped out of public discussion and history, it'll be difficult to convince her that they still exist, won't it? The Vanderbilts probably think that they've purged them all, which is a shitty thing altogether."

"Things like that happen throughout history all the time, Brian. Get a grip on that."

"Oh, so I should just remain like that for everything?" Brian angrily replied. "My family has been through shit before. My grandparents suffered so much during World War II and the Korean War. But since shit like that happens all the time, I should forget about it? It's tough being a commoner, isn't it, your fucking majesty?"

"Brian-"

"Heey!" Polly whimsically nudged her way out of the door, while holding plastic bags to hold her beers. "What's hanging?"

"I want to go back," Brian declared. "I'll see you two later."

"Brian-" Damien reached for him, and pulled him close. "Dude, I'm... I forgot about the fact that you used to be human, and that you have retained your memories. No other monster has ever felt so strongly about human history. S-sorry about that."

"Seeing war criminals in hell should have told you about the tragedies of people."

"I'm not old enough to have encountered or witnessed such sinners. My fathers would have dealt with them already. But please forgive me. I've been meaning to see you again and apologize, and I don't really like fucking doing that."

"He really doesn't," Polly chimed in. "Also, what the fuck happened when I was gone?"

"Just a misunderstanding," Damien answered. Brian didn't know if that was fully correct. "Brian, please. Can you come with us and hang out some more? This will be worth it."

"Also, you spend way too much time cooped in at your dorm, and never come out," Polly commented. "Don't do that! How are you able to loosen up and try my experimental shit at that rate? Or expand your friend group? Just try it out once, and if you don't like it, don't do it again. You're in good hands, we promise."

"I can most certainly not promise that!" Damien proudly asserted.

_Thanks for your input, Damien. But... I did finish my homework, and I have nothing else to do..._

"Fine." Brian hopped back onto his bike. "Lead the way."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The mention of the 'invisible gardeners' is a Philosophy joke. It is a mention to the Parable of the Gardener suggested by Antony Flew for the Falsification Principle. Does anyone reading this take Philosophy/used to take Philosophy?


	5. Sex and Bathing

"Who the fuck owns Polaroids anymore?" the stranger-photographer asked.

Brian waved off the friendly one-eyed passerby, who snapped the image of the trio biking down the avenue. The sun was starting to set, and there was a much needed shade exhibited to make the image nuanced. Brian somewhat related to Liam's innate desire to make images as pretty as possible, though he was far from addicted to it. And Polaroids could have been seen as too much of a trend by the critic vampire.

"Me and my friends decided to buy cameras together to commemorate different events when we have the chance," Brian answered, with a louder voice than usual to the disappearing stranger. 

"Too late, asswipe," Damien said. "He's gone."

"They're gone," Brian corrected.

"Oh."

"I look fucking awesome as always!" Polly viewed the picture happily. "When you look at this picture, you will wish to do me right then and there."

"Not in a public space," Brian joked. He felt more open for conversations now. 

"Aw, but that adds to the excitement! Vanilla is fine occasionally, but doing it like that too many times can get really boring, you know?"

"Don't speak to Brian like that, Polly," Damien teased. "He's a virgin."

"Not really," Brian clarified. Damien and Polly's interest was on him. "Uh... let's just continue getting to our destination."

"Nope!" Polly held the handle of his bike tightly. "You've got our attention now! Spill. The. Tea! Spill it!"

"I don't get it."

"She wants to know about your sex life, Brian," Damien elucidated. "And I would love to know, too."

Brian pretended to sip from his cup, which was already empty. He bit onto the bamboo straw tightly. He wasn't proud of his sex life or ashamed of it. It was just something that he appreciated being private of. He didn't go wild, but he wasn't the type to be so covert either. Though, did he really want to disclose that information to two monsters that he had just started hanging out with? Not really.

"Tell you what, Brian?" Polly let go, and trailed her finger up his neck. She was a master at sex, and he knew that she was very experienced at it. She oozed a sensual aura when she wanted to. "If you tell us things about you, then we'll tell you things about us. It's fair. We're open people, but we're not assholes. We will not disclose your information, unlike some blackmailing friends that we know..."

_Vera_, Brian knew. 

He turned to Damien. "You'll keep that private, too? You're the one that I'm worried about."

Polly slapped her mouth to try to stop laughing, and Damien's tail wagged slowly. "Brian, did you think that I would tell you stuff about my lack of desire to reign over Hell if I didn't trust you?"

"You've always said that Hell was boring."

"Well, we had one of the cheesiest heart-to-hearts ever during that night at Prom. I told you stuff, and you told me... more than you should have."

"Ooh!" Polly's hands were on his shoulders again. "Maybe if I give you a massage, your muscles will ease at the thought of giving us more info. I happen to be an excellent deliverer of that..."

"Fine," Brian agreed. Polly and Damien gave each other huge high-fives. "Which question-"

"Ow!" Damien retracted his hand. "Polly, that shit fucking hurts!"

"Sorry!" Polly apologized, with a lack of sincerity. "So, Brian..."

"Which question would you like to ask first?" Brian asked. 

"Who was it with?" Damien jumped on the opportunity first. "Your first fuck, I mean."

"My first boy friend."

"You had a boyfriend?" Polly was curious. "Hmm... do you like girls too? Just curious."

"I mean, I'm pan, so I don't really care about the gender identity of anyone."

"Was it fun?"

"Eh."

"Eh?" Polly was disappointed. "Girl, I'm sorry that your first time was boring. It be like that sometimes-"

"We weren't really expecting anything. He was moving away, and I developed feelings for him, so we just... did it."

"Aw!" Polly hugged him. "That's really sweet of you to do!"

"What do you mean you just developed feelings? You dated him before you two had even liked each other?" Damien asked.

"Oh, I meant male friend!" Brian bonked himself on the head. "I used to make that joke with him all the time. We actually never dated."

"Huh?" Polly and Damien let out. 

"Well, we were really close, but we weren't ever talking about our attraction to each other. We hid it from each other, and our families were somewhat religious."

"Aren't most Koreans atheists?" Damien asked.

"There are millions of us who are Christians. I was scared to talk about relationships with my family, because I didn't know if they would accept that. Even if we were living in America, I wasn't sure if I could talk with them about my feelings. Me losing my virginity wasn't planned, with the whole notion that I should wait until marriage. I don't know which one of us thought it would be a good idea to take our clothes off."

_Which sounds like a fanfiction idea, _Brian realized. 

"The thought of that just turned me on," Polly admitted unashamedly.

"Seriously?" Damien expressed in 'disgust', but turned away. "How... erm... immature..."

"He left, like, two days later, I think." Brian tried to remember. "Even if it was very awkward, it was nice to see that he thought the same way about me."

"It is," Polly agreed. "I wish that mine was as romantic. I did it with... hmm... my second boyfriend, I think. He turned out to be a dick, but I got some experience from it, so that's okay, I guess."

"I expected something far more freaky." Damien sounded bored. "So, Brian is far from a sex god, and Polly started off small?"

"He was pretty small," Polly mumbled, then cackled. Damien and Brian joined in. Good old Polly. "I have much higher expectations now! Or is it larger?"

"Why are you still holding that cup?" Damien questioned Brian. "It's empty, isn't it?"

"Whoops." Brian forgot that he was still holding it. "Uh... where's the nearest trash-"

Damien whipped it away from his hand, and set it alight. Brian quickly pulled the bamboo straw away first. He had heard it was reusable from a random web search. He was searching up monster porn to see how freaky it was, and suddenly came across an advertisement for reusable straws. The random endorsement was more interesting than the porn itself. It was far more boring than he imagined. Or his libido was far too low to care about the content.

"Remember, Brian, fire is always the answer!" 

"Um, what were we talking about again?" Brian asked.

"Oh, right! Since you two chipped in on the 'losing virginity' shit... I lost mine to a fucking angel."

"Did your dick almost burn off?" Polly asked. 

"How did you know? My whole body felt as though it was going through waterfalls of holy water, and I could have sworn that my balls almost disintegrated. We were both terrified. I didn't even know she was an angel. Probably because I was stoned off my ass. That was the last time I got high on weed."

"How about I reintroduce it to you?"

"Polly, fuck, no. I got grounded by my dads and had my iPod taken away from me. 16 year old me was devastated."

"You still have an iPod?"

Damien's body heat rose. It alone could have generated a heatwave. "You've got a problem with that, fuckface?"

"Not really. It just reminds me that you're old."

"You're 22!"

"I was 22 when I died, and will forever be 22. You have the burden of aging." Polly turned to the green zombie observing their banter. "Hey, Brian. How old were you when you died?"

"Uh... I was 18."

"Dang, you were... pretty young." Polly looked troubled upon hearing that. "Fucking hell... that's not fair."

"Nothing I can do about that."

Polly was biting her lips, as though she was trying to prevent herself from saying anything else. She shrugged. "I guess."

The 'getting-to-know' everyone conversation was starting to get awkward. "Let's continue-"

"Ooh, right! So, Brian, have you ever slept with anyone else?"

"Yeah. I had a girlfriend who I did stuff with."

"Worst euphemism for sex, ever."

"I liked her, and thought she was hot, so it wasn't a burden or anything. But I think I was still kinda lovesick over my close friend; it was difficult looking at her without thinking what me and him could have done together if he didn't leave."

"Probably practice better sex."

"Probably."

"Were things between you and your girlfriend long term?"

"I was planning on breaking up with her before I died. It just didn't seem fair to her that my mind was on someone else, no matter how much I cared about her."

"Oh. This seems far too personal for me to ask, doesn't it?"

"No. It just reminds me on how far I've repressed myself, and how I've spent my time living drifting apart from the very person that I fell in love with, and losing the chance of finding him."

"Did you ever take the chance?"

"I texted him the night I died. I asked him where he lived, and he gave me his address." Brian clenched the bicycle handle tightly, almost willing it to break. He knew the spell necessary to do that, but he respected the vehicle too much. "I... can't understand why this makes me so fucking angry still. I don't even love him like that anymore."

"Really?" 

_I wasn't really driving my way back home, was I? I was thinking about driving to him, with my lowered inhibitions and stupid thoughts. What. Was. I. Thinking? _

"Can we please get to where you guys are going to, now?"

* * *

It took hours. Literal hours. Logically, Damien and Polly did not need to go through such lengths to get to their targeted location. All they had to do was project themselves using their given abilities. Damien could use portals in other dimensions, so quick travel was easy. Polly could enter different dimensions as well; she had no body to interfere with entering them and no boundaries. 

When Brian pointed that out, Damien pointed out that going through portals could alert his fathers about his whereabouts, which he was never keen on. Polly answered him by saying that she enjoyed the breeze and feeling 'alive' again, and that powers weren't everything. She also loved squeezing the horn to warn other monsters in the way to 'fuck off'.

"If you want to say it like that," Polly said, "then why don't you use your spell for executing portals, too?"

"I don't know where we're going, and I lost my notes."

"How could you lose your notes on that?" Damien demanded. "That's one of the only badass lessons that Ms Lestrade gives! Everything else is about her interrupting the content of the lessons to grieve the husband that she sucked to death upon becoming a vampire! Lame."

"You mean that vampire teacher?" Polly asked. "She hates me!"

"That's because you tried to kill her before."

"I like Ms Lestrade, though!" Brian said aloud, hoping that Polly doesn't try to kill her again.

"Hey, Damie! When you said that she sucked her husband to death, which suck do you mean?"

"I think it's the blood-sucking-like-an-annoying-fucking-mosquito one."

"Her lips are too beautiful to be wasted on merely blood sucking! I stand by the belief that she gave her husband a dick sucking so good, he died!"

"That would be much happier and pleasing!" Brian agreed, with the air carrying away his words a bit.

The sun was already down. The moon spent its time hanging in the sky, blessing the monsters below with illumination. The wind graciously whisked away the leaves blocking the monsters' path, and swirled them around like a mini tornado, only less threatening and scary. 

"Brian? Damien? Do you think it'd be a good idea to ask Ms Lestrade if she can suck me dry, too?"

"If she hates you that much, then don't," Brian pleaded. 

"I don't have blood! There's nothing that she can take from me. And I wasn't just talking about blood..."

"Teacher-student relationships are not allowed."

"Nobody said that when I banged the substitute. He had some skill for a skeleton, let me tell you that!"

"Did he even have a dick?" Damien asked.

"Let's just say that his boner was still impressive! Take that, Impossible Monster Challenge Bucket List!!! for saying it was impossible to bone a skeleton!"

Brian was going to say that the challenge wasn't meant to be fulfilled that way, which he knew after attempting to fulfill it too many times, but then he remembered that Damien was next to him, and that the 'holy music' endeavor was in the challenge, thus spilling what he knew of it ruled that the incident was actually his fault. He couldn't believe that he was still thinking about it. 

They were much too far from the school now to turn back, but since it was the weekend, it was allowed for the bikes to be borrowed for longer. Otherwise, there would be fierce consequences. Fingerprints, tentacle leavings and much more monster DNA could be tracked from the coins, or ID information from the special student cards, and the offenders would be hunted down and potentially thrown to prison. If repeated three times, the student would be executed. The last time someone was executed for that was from a decade ago. Most monsters were afraid to use the bikes anymore. Not Damien and Polly. Brian (and Liam, because he counted) also had no necessary qualms. 

They were exiting a wide stretched monster city, where salons, hotels and restaurants were busy spreading light pollution like a regular concrete jungle. Brian took in the sight; he was amazed at how big the Monster Realm truly was, and this was just one portion of it. Monsters hid from humans, but it was discreetly possible to cross over to the other side. Brian was, however, a registered 'monster in care' by Spooky High, which was similar to being a ward of the state. He had no legal guardian to protect him, besides Principal Giant Spider himself. So, unless with special permission, Brian had no right to cross over to the human realm, even if he was of legal age. He wasn't deemed 'monster' enough.

"Here!" Polly pointed to a quiet, quaint Japanese style bathhouse, right outside the city. "I come here, like, six times a year."

They all parked their bikes outside, and were greeted by ghosts. They were dressed in navy blue uniform. They bowed respectfully, and motioned for them to come in.

"The yurei," Polly described. "They are Japanese ghosts. They're cool peeps, so don't feel uncomfortable!"

"I haven't been in a bathhouse since I was young," Brian admitted. 

"It's a place to chill out, and forget what's been bothering you lately. It's a good distraction from our stressful school year."

They walked inside. Brian was impressed by the relaxed ambiance. The walls and flooring were of oak wood planks. The building was eerily quiet and empty, due to it being so far from public view. Polly winked at the ghostly cashier, who smiled back in greeting.

"The founder of this place was a Japanese woman who decided, fuck it, time to renovate this shitty 'where-the-fuck-am-I' cabin into something more chill and inviting," Polly explained in 'hip' words. "It's been here for almost a century, now! I come back to unwind, and to visit my friend over here. She's beautiful, isn't she?"

She cupped the cheek of the cashier, who swatted her hand away. Most of the other ghosts shielded their eyes, and giggled. The odd one out was scrolling through her phone in boredom.

"Dang," Brian breathed out. It was odd to see other specters, defying the laws of science as always. It was almost even pleasant to see that Polly had fellow ghosts to possibly hang out with. 

Polly waved off being turned down. "It's unfortunate that this place isn't as popular as it should be. I tried promoting it, but putting pamphlets throughout the city in Japanese didn't help much."

"There aren't a lot of monsters here who are Japanese. It is a mortal language."

"So is English." 

"Mm."

"Niko, please put the cost of these two gentlemen on my tab," Polly said to the cashier. 

"Polly-"

"Come on, I'm in a good mood today. Be happy about that."

One of the bathhouse attendants separated Polly from Damien and Brian. "Sexes are segregated. It is part of our policy."

"Man!" Damien growled. "We're the only ones here!"

"It'll be worth it," Polly promised, and walked the opposite direction to the female section.

Damien and Brian were guided to the male section, to a door reading 男 の 子. Brian recognized 男, which was boy in Chinese script and Japanese kanji.

"You two are required to wash thoroughly before you two enter the bath," the attendant instructed. "I will bring towels, shampoo and body soap shortly."

"What the fuck's the point of a bath, then-" Brian elbowed Damien by his side, and smiled as apology on his behalf to the attendant. "-ugh!"

"Thank you very much," Brian said. "Er, I mean, ありがとうございます (arigatou gozaimasu)."

"You know Japanese?"

"I went to an international school, so I know very few words from Japanese and Chinese from my classmates."

The attendant nodded in acknowledgement to Brian's thanks, and left them both to settle on who would take the shower first.

* * *

Japanese bathhouses operated differently from Western bathhouses. Brian felt very embarrassed to note that to Damien, who was already eager to look at him naked anyways. 

"Turn away!" Brian ordered to Damien, who was smiling lewdly. "Come on!"

"I've been waiting for this moment since two nights ago, dude!"

"If I respect your privacy, then can you please respect mine?"

"We didn't really agree on who would bathe first though."

"Would you like to go first?"

"I don't think you're comfortable being around me."

"I'm not, but Polly paid. We shouldn't waste her money."

"Fine, I'll go. Look away if you wanna."

Damien went to the dressing room to put aside his clothing, while Brian stood by the door. They were exposed to the outside of the bathhouse. Their bath had a stony exterior, and the water was heated from an anonymous system. He couldn't tell. He looked around, and saw images of a strange yokai. Underneath the kanji ひょうすべ, it read Hyosube, which according to the description, was a yokai who occasionally jumped in baths and shed its hair in them. If the water was emptied, the Hyosube would exact revenge. That gave much unease to Brian. He was engrossed in reading more of the details that he barely heard Damien use the shower.

"I'm done!" Damien stepped out from the sliding door separating the bathing area from the changing area. Brian refused to look at him yet.

"That quick?" 

"I don't get dirty easily when I'm not beating anybody. Today was fucking boring, tho."

Brian finally turned to look at him, and his jaw fell open. He looked too good to ignore. "U-uh... I... I'll go... wash myself now..."

"Use the stool. Sit on it to wash up, or else somebody's gonna get pissed. What kind of fucking voyeur looks at monsters wash up?" Damien didn't seem to have noticed Brian's awe of his body. 

"I-I think the employees here respect privacy more than you'd expect. It's the proper bathhouse etiquette in their native homeland, so we should respect it to respect their traditions."

_Agh! What the fuck? What's wrong with me today? I stuttered, because I saw a demon without clothes! _

"I don't wanna be hunted down by those yokai. They're creepy as fuck."

* * *

The bath was soothing, and allegedly full of minerals that helped the heart, body and immune system. Brian had his folded towel on his head, and groaned in bliss as the water comforted his internal troubles. Polly was right; he needed this. The warmth of the water almost appeared to warp away the coldness that he tended to have because of his lack of thermal regulation. The birds chirping in the background, and the soft wind being allowed to blow through to surround him made the experience better.

"Wow," Damien let out, "this shit's pretty good."

"Mmhm..." Brian closed his eyes, and let the aqua pooling around surround him further. 

He drifted off slightly, and was startled to open his eyes to the sound of flash from his Polaroid camera. Damien had transported the camera with his psychokinetic abilities over to take the image. 

"Hey!" Damien set the camera aside, far enough from the bath that no water would splash on it. "I did not give you-"

"-permission is not a word in my vocabulary, sweetheart."

"Don't call me that..."

"Why...?" Damien edged closer, and put his arm around Brian. "Does that make you embarrassed?"

"U-um..." Brian covered his chest with his arms. "We... er..."

"Why did you think that I wanted to spend time with you so badly? We have unfinished business, you and I."

"Who said I'm going to have sex with you?"

"If you want to, you can. I'm just waiting for you to accept my request."

"And what if I don't want to?"

"Brian, I'm not going to take advantage of you. Do you know that rape to me is fucking abominable?"

_And murder isn't, but I guess I'm not innocent enough to say that. _

"I would like to enjoy my bath first, before we talk more about it."

"Suit yourself." Damien moved away, back to sitting opposite from him.

Brian looked away, a deep feeling of confusion bubbling in his chest. The water was helping to lessen its effects, but Brian was conflicted. He was still open to the opportunity to sleep with the demon, but he wanted him to understand the repercussions of his actions first. 

"Hey, Brian."

Brian's sight was back on the demon, who was looking serious. He drew his knees to his chest, and held them close.

"I don't know how to say this, without sounding like a fucking sappy bullshitter... but I'm truly sorry about what you went through. Horrific family history, repressing your sexual identity, and dying a preventable death is so much to deal with. I don't understand that, because even though my family knows all sinners of different backgrounds, we are the deliverers of pain. And... fuck, you trusted me to tell me that. How can I not feel guilty? I even almost lost your trust again a few hours ago." He looked even more serious than Brian had ever seen him. "You don't have to worry about me spilling anything. I didn't spill any details about you. Polly knows jack shit, and so does everyone else besides us."

Brian bit his tongue, which was a bad habit that he used to have. He was a good liar when he needed to be, but even he overshared sometimes. "Fuck... I still can't believe I said..."

"Yeah. I understand the feeling of not being able to avenge what you've lost."

"When sinners come to Hell, and they are damned, do you see through their experiences? Like, literally feel what they went through."

"When they're dishonest, yes. I had seen through thousands in preparation to be king. Often, I saw people far worse than us demons. So many of them, tainted, to the point where they were practically rotting from their horrid, underdeveloped consciences. It almost convinced me that all humans were the same. We may be demons in Hell, and we may in nature be deterred from 'goodness' or whatever, but humans are like the Lucifers of their own fucking realm."

"We're pretty horrible sometimes."

"All they know what to do is destroy the very world that sustains them, really. Just for temporary comfort that will eventually cause the Earth to implode. That's why I forgot you used to be human for a bit."

"Huh? How? I'm literally a zombie. I am a corpse of a human."

"It's easier to distance you from most humans that I know. The humans that I know only care about themselves. The murderers, thieves, terrorists. You... are emotionally open. Mentally sound. You fucking care."

"That's a very human thing to do."

"There's not enough of that."

"But if there's a Hell, then there's a Heaven too, right?"

"Ugh. Fuck, right. That exists."

"So... the reason why you only see bad people is because they committed the atrocities that sent them there. That doesn't mean all humans are bad. The good ones just go somewhere else. You see the worst of the worst, and Heaven sees the best of the best."

"It just makes me wonder. I don't ever regret what I do, and what I do is perceived as 'bad', or whatever other negative connotations that other fucking hypocrites add. Fucking around with people and messing with them feels justified, you know? Yet, you know both worlds, and what they are capable of. Polly does too, though I don't know if it would be okay for me to ask questions about living as a human. She could get offended by that. I don't know what she went through."

Brian could feel emotions stirring within him again. If he told more things to Damien, personal things, then he had nothing else to hold back. He wanted control over what he said, and what other people heard from him. He wasn't ready to talk more about them. He already felt as though he may have said too much. He was so open to Polly and Damien about his sex life. 

But Brian felt something so calming about talking to the demon in front of him. Damien wasn't a professional, and he tended to lack empathy. Regardless, this discussion was painting him in a stranger picture. A picture that unveiled another side of Damien LaVey: someone who was willing to listen. And who knew it would be from this monster among everyone else? Even his own friends?

_I was open to a monster who was a douche baguette to me. I was never so open like this toward my own friends. My priorities are super fucked._

"Shit, dude!" Damien threw his head back, and groaned in annoyance. "We're having another fucking cheesy heart-to-heart. Again! How the fuck did this happen?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Image of the Polaroid is from the Monster Prom Wiki.
> 
> I used information on Japanese bathhouses from these websites:  
https://thepointsguy.com/guide/11-things-to-know-before-your-first-visit-to-a-japanese-bath/  
https://www.messynessychic.com/2018/12/06/a-beginners-guide-to-the-bath-houses-of-japan/  
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2074.html  
https://www.japan.travel/en/guide/japanese-bathhouses/  
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sent%C5%8D
> 
> Information of the Hyosube is from: http://yokai.com/hyousube/
> 
> (These websites contain imagery of nudity. This is because in Japanese bathhouses, you are expected to bathe naked. A friend of mine confirmed this when she went to a sento (bathhouse in Japanese) this summer.)


	6. Hero for Thought?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! I'm sorry for taking longer for usual. 
> 
> I'll also be unavailable for next weekend and the weeks after that, because I'll be in another country for a bit.

Brian was insisting the previous night that he himself stay behind at the bathhouse. The bathhouse had a sleeping room, which is a common feature of Japanese bathhouses. The sleeping room had tatamis to sleep on, which Brian would not have minded. He could sleep anywhere. Sleeping was his most treasured love. 

Damien was not willing to do so. He threw a close hissy fit.

_"For fuck's sake, Brian! Do you want me to set the whole place alight with my natural body heat?"_

_They were both out of the bath, and covered as modest as possible with their towels, which wasn't really possible._

_"Fine. You can go. I'll make my way back in the morning."_

_"No way, fleabag."_

_"Fleabag? I spent a lot of time cleaning myself up! Do I smell like shit, still?" Brian was very self-conscious about his scent and hygiene. _

_"No! It was just a matter of- whatever. I don't really trust this place. It's open, literally infested with ghosts, and has a chance of being overrun by weird aquatic creatures, apparently."_

_"Yeah. The Hyosube."_

_"We're noping the fuck out." He grabbed Brian by his arm, tightly. "You're coming with me."_

_"Why?"_

_"I'm not leaving you alone here. Do you really think that Polly is going to stay here overnight, too?"_

_"But what about the bikes?"_

_"I'll handle that."_

_"I really don't mind staying here. I had experience from a _찜질방_ (jjimjilbang) before."_

_"What?"_

_"A Korean bathhouse. Sorry. Slip of language there."_

_"I do not trust a corpse being alone in a strange location where ghosts habitually float around like drunk clouds."_

_The whole building shook for a bit, likely from the wrath of the ghost employees. It was the spookier version of being flipped off. _

_"I can handle them. I know how to store them in jars, thanks to what I learnt in class two weeks ago."_

_"Are there any jars around here, dumbass?"_

_"Oh, right..."_

_"Brian, imagine how many centuries it's been since they've last been inside a body. You and I are the only ones here with a vessel to possess." Damien caught the possible innuendo of his sentence. "Huh... inside..."_

_"Wow."_

_Damien summoned another portal again, in the shape of an infamous pentagram in the middle of the antique oak floor. He closed it shut, though the red mistiness of the satanic aura bubbled underneath the planks. It was left on standby._

_"Change your clothes. We're going."_

Brian would have lied and said that he willingly followed the devil back to his dormitory with utter and clear consent. When he refused one last time, Damien lost his temper. His eyes glowed a fierce red, and his tail elongated to twist around Brian, and squeeze around him like a boa constrictor. Brian struggled to escape, and his eyes widened as he heard the devil roaring in laughter. He was spun around with his clothing, and was magically reclothed alongside his scary companion. Damien then snapped his fingers, and Brian saw himself being pulled into the depths of Hell. 

It was like a cavern with blood seeping around the walls and cracks of an endless tunnel while limbs frantically tried to escape. Brian could hear the screams of legions of their begs to be freed and saved from their endless, eternal suffering. Brian screamed the whole way through the channel. He could close his eyes but not his ears, so he could not ignore the awful, audible agony of the countless sinners. Damien obviously had no reaction to his own home dimension. It was just another quick transport. Brian could almost feel the fear of the sinners themselves, with his empathy and sympathy not dried up just yet. It was a frightening, demeaning sight. They were reaching out to him, trying to latch onto him and pull themselves away from the outcomes of their decisions.

"Okay!" Damien said cheerfully, when they both were transported to Brian's dorm. The door was still broken, which made it easy to break in, though nobody did. The security of his dormitory was tightened to protect him. "Time for me to-"

Brian broke down, horrified and almost traumatized by what he had seen in the Underworld. He looked at the hallway, which was supposed to be white on each side. Instead, he could only see the hollow, unforgiving red from the Underworld. He wheezed and screamed, which echoed throughout the hallway. Rare tears pooled around his eyes. He was on the brink of a panic attack. He hadn't had one in months.

"Fuck! Okay, okay... shit..." Damien wrapped his arms around him, and looked around. "I-I can't leave you here... shit... sorry, but we need to go through again..."

It was quicker, and easier to ignore the shrieks. When they arrived, Brian's jacket floated away from him, and into Damien's powered hands. He was laid down on the bed, and Damien sat by his side, rubbing his back and whispering at him that he was by his side, and that he would help him. 

"D-D-Damien..."

"I'm not leaving your side," he promised, and cradled him. "I should have thought about your safety, and what you could have experienced."

"T-t-those people... they were... they... holy shit..."

"Fuck... what's wrong with me?" Damien buried his face in Brian's hair deeply. "Why can't I treat you right? I'm just fucking you up."

_No, _Brian thought. _Maybe Principal Giant Spider was right. I'm not monster enough. I can't handle monster issues or reality. I can't adapt to this._

"I-I'm fine..."

"You're not. Shit, Bri..."

"Those guys, they were screaming... crying..."

"They deserve it."

"B-but t-to this extent?"

"Brian, I told you just now about how we see the most wicked of all humans. Punishment isn't meant to be lenient for those assholes. They're among the dirtiest of all of humanity. You condemned war criminals for their actions against your grandparents. They suffer too. It's a bit like karma, except those who don't subscribe to such views and act horrifically, well, suffer more in this life."

"I-I've never thought it would be like this, though." He expected to be vindicated compared to the people he saw deserving punishment. Not to be drowning in guilt and second hand misery. "It's so much worse."

"You're shaking. Stop thinking about it."

"How?" He could still sense hands trying to either pull him close to the horrifying wreckage of broken consciences and decisions, or use him as an escape from hell. Either way sucked. "M-millions, perhaps billions of individuals spend the rest of whatever they have now to die again and again?"

"No. Those bastards enjoy eternal life, except instead of pleasure they receive agony. If they were more careful in their lives, then they wouldn't have been punished."

Brian clasped his own ears tightly, attempting to will away the voices of the screeching, rotting and suffering sinners from his mind. He didn't expect to fall asleep. 

* * *

Brian opened his eyes to the sunlight's rays bursting through the windows, force feeding the plants outside so that they could photosynthesize and make their starch. He propped himself upward with his elbows, and stifled a small yawn. He wasn't used to sleeping on such a warm bed. By that, he almost caught on fire when he first laid on it. It was to be expected from spending the night on a bed belonging to a demon.

"Hey, noob."

"Shit!" Brian cursed silently, and rolled on the concrete floor. His clothes set on fire. Extinguishing it was necessary. "Ah!"

"Whoops." Damien willed the fire to leave quickly. Brian saw it dance around him, before it was absorbed by the demon's cigarette. He was taking a quick smoke. "How are you feeling?"

_The trip through hell. Me going through that panic attack. Messy shit._

"As good as I can feel."

Brian looked around, and grumbled. The dorm room was bigger than his. The walls had pictures of Damien's activities while he still lived in hell, whether that would be from his elementary and primary schools, his fathers' wedding photo, his baby photo, that time when his parents were proud of his first time preventing an exorcism by a nun, etc. A copy of his birth certificate was also there, with a special spell enchantment preventing theft of it. Brian could sense the protective barrier, thanks to his increased time studying. Damien was wearing different clothes than last night: a dark purple shirt, cream colored pants and dark boots with Velcro. He was wearing a necklace. 

"Do you wish you never went through that portal through hell?" Damien asked, before Brian could look at his necklace better. 

Brian thought about his empathy toward the fallen, rotting entities. "Surprisingly... it made me realize the impact of my decisions, and how I took many people for granted."

"How the fuck did it lead to that?"

"When I was younger, I hated my baby sister. So, so much. She took all the attention away from me, and made me look awful in comparison to her. I never wanted another sibling. So, I once prayed to God to kill her."

"Holy shit..."

"Yeah. Awful stuff. I thought I didn't care about her, and that I would be better off. When she contracted pneumonia at the age of three, I was horrified. I thought she was genuinely not going to make it. I took back everything I said, and I prayed again to ask for God to save her. I promised that I would never do such a thing again. Looking at hell, at the people wishing for second chances... could I have been one of them for doing such a thing?"

"You were young. I mean, I would have probably done the same thing at your age. My dads would have been pissed if they found out I prayed to God." Damien gagged. "They considered having another child. There are rumors that they will go through with it soon. That would be fucking disgusting."

"Aren't you adopted?'

"Brian, just because my dads are the same sex, doesn't mean they can't have biological children. I'm related to both of them."

"That's... interesting. In my previous realm, that's impossible."

"Really? Lame! How the fuck do they get children, then?"

"In vitro fertilization, adoption, surrogacy-"

"That's not cool! What was God thinking when he made people? Why couldn't he have just made them, like, multi-organed or something?"

"Eh. Who knows? Maybe life is just about conquering obstacles and going through with life more triumphantly."

"Fuck philosophy. And having more organs makes killing people more entertaining. Wait, what were we talking about with your sister, again? Did she die?"

"Luckily, no." He really wanted to go back to sleep, but they had to get to school. "She recovered in time. I kept my word, and tried to not be as bitchy. I wasn't always successful, but I can assure that I never prayed for her to die again."

"I kinda wonder why God saved your sister and not thousands of other kids who die every year."

"That's a question that may never be solved."

"Are you still religious, Brian?"

"Since you exist, I guess I have no choice but to believe in God, don't I?"

"Your parents would be proud, wouldn't they?"

"They would be disgusted that I am literally associated with the devil."

"Devils' son. And I would respond by telling them to suck my dick. But that would equate to sodomy in their eyes, so blah! Wait, since they're married, they could have done some of those 'sins' together-"

"Damien, no!"

"Kidding. Kidding. Well, I don't have to feel bad about subjecting you into my homeland, then?"

"Of course you do."

"But are you still traumatized by it?"

"Uh..." He closed his eyes, imagined himself back, and forgot to breathe for two seconds. "I don't know if I was even traumatized."

"I can get it erased from you, if you want to."

"What?" 

"Yeah. Hell has an underground business when it comes to striking people with afflictions. Random memory loss, bad habits and temptations. I know someone who could help with erasing that from your mind."

"I'd rather not you tamper with my memories."

"I was going to do it, but you're a smart bitch, so you'd probably figure it out and become devoutly religious to spite me. God literally forbid."

Brian felt as though he was forgetting something. Something important enough that it could impact the life of someone.

_What is it?_

Suddenly, he sniffed the air, and smelled the stench of smoke. It wasn't Damien's fireproof bed, or Damien himself (even though he smoked; neat). It was from outside. The windows were opened near the bed, and a monster could be seen, waving their hands around as they ran around in flames. A strange merperson was holding a flamethrower, screaming that it was an offense to eat fish within the vicinity of a certain Vanderbilt royalty. 

"Fucking idiot," Damien complained. "Why can't anybody leave the arson to me? Or invite me to torch that shitface's ass?"

"Miranda..." Brian remembered Castalia the nymph, who was a few miles away from the school. "Damien, we have to warn Miranda-"

"About what again?"

"The naiad."

"Who- oh. What is the naiad's name? If she's a nobody, then there's no issue."

"I don't think you've ever heard of her before," Brian believed. "Her name is Castalia."

"Never heard of her. She's probably not a problem, then."

Brian closed the window, disgusted by the burning flesh of the idiot passerby. "Why did you open the window?"

"If I didn't, then I'd incinerate you with my body heat. I had to put on two blankets to deal with the wind."

"It's summertime."

"Not hot enough. It's everyone else's fault that they're too weak to deal with the sun right now. Global warming, my ass! It's just the sun finally recognizing us devils needing more heat before we dominate the Earth and pulverize everyone else's asses!"

* * *

**MONSTERSEARCH WITH GOOGLE SEARCH ENGINE**

**Search: _Possible emigration from the planet?_**

Brian was sure he didn't want to remain on Earth in case Damien finally took it over. As soon as he arrived in school, he connected to the school WiFi and tried to find alternatives. He downloaded a free VPN too, even if it carried a high risk of selling his personal data to advertising companies, or worse, to Vera to exploit him further. It sounded like her type of business.

"Hmm..." Brian scrolled through the results. "Build a rocket ship? Alright. Requirements... steel wings? 3000 Monster Dollars? No way. Alternative... slay a dragon and skin it for good measure. Dang, but I got a C when I had to complete that assignment two months ago..."

It was official. He had to stay put on Earth until he managed to strike it lucky in Vegas, with the hopeful disguise of heavy makeup and mafia-inspired clothing. Unless Damien's domination plans sped up. It was fun to research it, though.

"Well..." He looked around the campus. He wondered what to do. He could skip class again. He could practice football with his fellow team members. He could party outdoors. He could act in the auditorium. He could get more money from the library. Or he could go to the bathroom to try and shit again. He couldn't do that yet. He didn't eat much fiber, and his rectum wasn't ready. 

He looked to his right, and saw Liam walking to school with earphones. AirPods were becoming popular, even in the Monster Realm, but everybody knew that anything too popular or trendy would end up in Liam's flourishing 'shit list for posers'. Liam raised his head up, and had eye contact with the green zombie for a while. He grimaced, and then proceeded to make his way toward him, with one earphone being removed to prepare himself for conversation. Brian fidgeted with his hands. He hadn't spoken with the vampire for much, unless he accidentally bumped into him or was teamed up with him in dodgeball. 

"Hi-"

"Don't 'hi' me, you." Liam reached for his rotten hand, and clenched it tightly. "I know who your friends are. They had the audacity to construct a flighty message telling me of my 'snobby' and distasteful notions, and how I try so hard to be different and fancy that I may as well chug champagne through my ass so that my insides reflect my taste. I get it. You all think that because I'm a wannabe hipster, I'm far more inferior than you knuckleheads."

"Er-"

"And I heard that you are a particularly creative monster yourself. You likely were responsible for crafting that message. And your performances in the auditorium, in that disgusting mess of a dinosaur outfit, inspired three monsters to dedicate a shrine to you and summon the Antichrist. Luckily, Damien pulverized them before they could unleash such monstrosity in the universe. You are a force to be reckoned with. Perhaps even terminated if you try anything else."

Brian was never afraid of anyone threatening him. But Liam was over 400 years old, and had escaped the jaws of death far longer than he had. Surely he knew how to deal with other undead, and destroy them, too. 

"Liam-"

"Ugh, just listening to you speak makes my blood feel like it's receding, like water being sucked away from the beach in a tsunami. And my blood doesn't even flow properly anymore. You disgust me, you sack of rotting filth." Liam cleared his throat, and adjusted his glasses. "Okay, sorry. That was not nice of me to say, as a fellow undead myself. But you get what I mean. Or at least you should, unless it's too obscure for your ordinary brain to take in?"

"I get it," Brian mumbled. 

"Good." Liam was about to put his earphone back. "Now-"

"Liam, you've gotta hear me out."

"Are you apologizing?"

"Er... yes. And also, Miranda is in trouble. We have to warn her."

"Oh, after your silly pranks on us fellow monsters, I don't think I have to listen to anything else you say. In fact, I should turn my volume up right now."

"Liam, please. Surely, you've heard of the naiads of the previous republic before the Vanderbilts?"

"I haven't met one since the last century. You can't feed me lies that they still exist."

"But they do."

"Hmm..." Liam read his face. His cold hand met Brian's cold face, and moved it around to detect traces of dishonesty. "Your eyes are intent. You are more likely to be telling the truth."

"Do you trust me, then?"

"No. Unless I see the proof in front of me, I cannot believe you. I sincerely have not seen one of those entities for so long."

"Have... alright, this may sound like a stretch, but have you met a naiad by the name of Castalia?"

Liam gasped, and his eyes widened. His pupils dilated, showing that he _definitely _knew a naiad by the name of Castalia. "Describe her."

"Brown haired, pale skin. Uh... black spots around her eyes. Slender figure, has the flag of the previous republic with her-"

"That sounds like her... I haven't met her since the last republic. She was patriotic. The previous merpeople treated the water nymphs with respect. When I went on my excursion, I met her by the spring, where she lived, gifted by the river Cesiphus. She would recall accounts of her turning into a fountain to escape Apollo."

"The Greek gods exist?"

"To the ancient Greeks, they did. But monsters back then were quite independent. I... thought since the spring got dried up by the Vanderbilts, that she may have died. Her life force was attached to that spring. I mourned her, grieved that such an intelligent soul was gone..." Liam's hand, on Brian's face, was shaking. "Where is she, Brian?"

"Actually, she's nearby. She's at the Monster Gas Station a few miles away."

"Which version?"

"99th."

"Get me there. Now."

"It's going to be lunch soon. If we don't get in the cafeteria, we will be marked down and found by the guards. I can help you after school's over."

"Fuck, right. The guards probably think that my so called 'eating disorder' had worsened to the point of me skipping lunch. Dumbasses don't know how vampires work. Fine, I will sit next to Miranda and try to warn her." Liam's hand finally withdrew from his face, which felt more intimate than before. "Alright. We've got a plan."

* * *

"Brian!" Vicky said in relief, and embraced the zombie when she saw him approach. "Where were you yesterday?"

"Uh, at home-" Brian lied. He didn't want to admit that he spent the whole day with Damien and Polly. It felt like betrayal when he hung out with his usual friends for so long.

"I visited your dorm in the afternoon and at night! I wanted to see if you were alright. Since your door was still broken, I saw that you weren't there. Why are you lying to me?"

That was because he didn't bring his phone with him outside. Vicky looked disappointed at him for his dishonesty. Like his mother when he came home from spending time with his friends instead of eating with family, and pretending that he studied with them. She had a motherly, caring side that could not be ignored.

"Sorry, Vick. I was worried that Amira would get jealous that I was hanging out with Polly yesterday, so I didn't say anything."

"I mean, our agreement about pursuing as many monsters as we can should leave everyone open for dating."

"But you know how Amira gets passionate about things sometimes?"

"Ah... she does." Vicky pointed to the table that their pals were sitting at. Oz was passing his spoon, which was full of soup, to his shadow buddy. It took a refreshing sip, and pumped its miniature fists in the air. Amira was poking her salad, looking disappointed at her selection. "Come on, join us."

"Let me get some food, first," Brian suggested. He was getting hungry. Vicky knew about the issue with leaving him hungry, and let him enter the cafeteria line.

Brian saw some monsters cut in front of him, as usual. He looked at the possible options: tentacles stuffed with griffin, avocado pasta (for the vegetarians, and those obsessed with human culture), macaroni and demonic ram meat (bestseller from the Underworld; famous for its taste), withered salad, and much more. Mephistophelinda, the head lunch lady, was always generous with Brian. She knew of his immense hunger and his relationship with Principal Giant Spider, so serving him well was a no-brainer for her. She also appreciated that he never complained about his food. 

He decided to view the food selections one more time (it distracted him from the innate urge for brains), when he saw contents from a tray labelled Devil's Lettuce being placed on another person's plate. He knew exactly what Devil's Lettuce was. Worse, it was on Amira's plate. He quickly ordered the avocado pasta, then rushed to the table that he shared with his friends.

"Why does my salad smell weird?" Amira asked, then shrugged. "Ah, down the chute, I guess-"

"No!" Brian yelled, and smacked Amira's hand. Her fork clattered to the ground, and several monsters looked at them strangely, before looking away.

"What the hell, dude?"

"It's demonic weed, Ami."

"Weed?"

"Marijuana."

"... oh." Amira set her tray aside. "Uh... I should have known that."

"It doesn't sound unusual for the LaVeys to sell produce. They sell demonic dragon egg sprouts."

"Sourced from my homeland, actually."

"Whoa." Brian took his seat beside Amira. "Really?"

"The dragon sprouts are dormant in too extreme temperatures. In my homeland, the lowest temperature reaches, like, 100 degrees Celsius. Before the sprouts are active, you have to add water to it so that they don't multiply and weed the surrounding soil, or harm the dragon fetus."

Brian now knew that he likely shouldn't visit Amira's place anytime soon. "Cool. Well, not literally."

"I had to clip the sprouts off, once. One of them came alive, and bit my finger off. I had to get it welded back. I was eight."

Brian, with a mouthful of avocado pasta, almost lost his appetite. 

Vicky and Oz continued eating their lunch. They wouldn't have acted so calm if it wasn't for Brian's protectiveness and reliability. The weed 'salad' looked lonely, covered in poorly chopped tomatoes and weird dressing. Several students were already acting strangely from their large intake of the Devil's Lettuce, which was ridiculous, as it took larger amounts of weed to get high, meaning that they did not notice with their first bite that they weren't eating actual salad.

"The only monster I know who gets Devil's Lettuce is Polly," Brian said.

"Why?"

"It's owned by the LaVeys. Of course it would be overpriced. It is specially bred from the best possible strain. Polly's raking in serious dough from her drug business, so she can afford it." Noting the luxuriousness of the strain prompted Brian to realization. "Scott and Polly are avid about pulling pranks. Most monsters are unable to recognize the Devil's Lettuce as weed because they're not rich enough to know of its existence. Who knew they were stupid enough to fall for it?"

Amira frowned. Brian shook his head.

"I didn't mean that about you, Amira."

"You sure?"

Brian eyed Liam, who was busy trying to convince Miranda to be wary of her surroundings. She was looking at him in confusion, while she pinched her feeding serfs to keep eating. Their jaws were clearly too tired to keep going. It was depressing to see how power could influence someone to use their power to do such things.

_Things like that happen throughout history all the time. _Damien's words repeated in his mind. He was right, and may forever be right, if nobody learnt anything.

_Maybe I can help the naiads this way, _Brian hoped. _Unless... Castalia's the only one left alive._

"Why did you order a salad, anyways, Amira?" Brian asked. "You don't like salads. At all."

This was considering vegetables being comprised of mostly water.

"I gained a lot of weight..." Amira poked her stomach. "I gotta lose it."

"You have a rapid metabolism, though?"

"Doesn't mean I should go overboard. But I did, and took my metabolism for granted. My grandma always complained about letting myself go, and I did it."

Vicky excused herself to set aside her tray. She did not bother to look at Brian. Oz was still busy consuming his soup. He accidentally tilted his spoon too far, and practically drowned his shadow buddy. Some of the liquid got onto his shirt, too. 

"Vick-" Brian reached out, to apologize. "Hey-"

"Brian!" Liam walked over, and grabbed his parka. "You have to come to the table. Miranda... Miranda is being unreasonable."

"She isn't acknowledging the naiad extermination crisis?"

"No. She's unreasonably stupid. I need your help to dumb it down for her to understand that her life is in danger. My way of words was too strange for her, and she's the bloody royalty."

Amira's jaw dropped at Brian's luck at interacting with the two other head honcho monsters. Brian apologetically smiled, and made his way toward them. He had already gulped down his lunch before he got there.

There sat Miranda. She was grinning with malice as she asked her serf how the food tasted like. She was brushing her delicate pink hair as she made the frightening questions. 

"Miranda," Liam announced, "this is Brian."

Miranda looked at Brian, and smiled politely. It contrasted largely to her treatment of her own serfs, but it consoled Brian to know that she was far from being a dickhead. For now.

"Greetings, fellow classmate!" Miranda said, and extended her hand for him to shake. "You do not look so dirty, yourself!"

"I'm not," Brian promised, and reciprocated her gesture. Her hand was gentle, small and firm. She was trained to be diplomatic successfully. 

"Liam said something about you wondering if my life has been on the line?"

"Yes." Brian scanned his brain. Surely he could appear charming before a figure of royalty. "There has been a threat to your life by a lone naiad, who-"

"Naiad? I apologize, but there are no naiads from the Vanderbilt Republic anymore! Daddy promised that he had them exterminated. I was taught all about their history and inferior ways to us merpeople. They demanded to be protected, but really, they wanted sovereignty. They couldn't acknowledge that us Vanderbilts are far more different than their other monarch."

"But Miranda, this is serious. This poses a threat to your life!"

"You... a stranger, want to protect me?" Miranda asked. "Why?"

"I care for my fellow monsters. That is all."

"Hmm..." Miranda pondered. "A strange monster comes over... to protect me..."

"Oh, no," Liam groaned out. "Brian, it's best if you go."

"Why?"

Miranda suddenly stood up, and stretched out her arms toward Brian. Brian stepped back slightly, with his arms extended to prevent her from embracing him. He should have remembered her desire to be courted.

"Could it be? A knight, come to save me? From a monster? Why, it is as prophesied! But... you are not of noble blood!" Miranda poked the side of Brian's cheek. "You are literally rotting! But, oh! No other suitor made up an excuse as preposterous as pretending that extinct species exist just to be by my side!"

"But I'm not-"

"Oh, be quiet, young sir. Save your words for our date. When shall it be?" Miranda gave a wink, and stuck her tongue out. "I will be waiting for your call."

"But-"

"Did you hear what I said before, young sir? I want to hear all about you, but how about you invite me to somewhere more formal?"

Liam never looked so annoyed, pissed and embarrassed before to Brian. He snorted, before sitting back down and taking more pictures for his food. He needed a break from such ridiculousness. 

_Shit, shit, shit! Agh! Liam giving me the pissy face makes it even worse!_

"Um... I..."

"Brian would love to arrange a meeting with you, Miranda," Liam lied through gritted teeth. "He will inform you of his decision as soon as he can."

"Wonderful!" Miranda swooned. "I look forward to our arrangements!"

* * *

"You what?" 

Brian flinched at his friends' screams. He couldn't believe the situation himself, but here he was, outside of the cafeteria with friends, ranting over their problems. Amira couldn't stop demanding why Brian's popularity was getting higher than the others. Brian, knowing that it wouldn't help to keep the information away from them, spilled the beans.

They were rather horrified.

"Okay..." Oz rubbed his face. "You encountered a monster who has the direct priority to end Miranda's life?"

"And is a naiad, who was thought to have went extinct because of the infamous Vanderbilt purge?" Vicky continued.

"How the fuck did you get so lucky with so many monsters, so quickly?" Amira pinched the bridge of her nose. Vicky glared at her for her ignorance and Oz shook his head, signalling that it wasn't the time to ogle. "Oh... right..."

"That's..." Vicky mumbled. "... a lot. Man, no wonder why you didn't want to tell us about this."

"Who knew you'd be the hero of any story?" Amira wondered. "What a rare feat to place on your resume before you graduate."

_Oh, right. In case I pursue higher education, I can add stuff to my resume and personal statement. Saving a princess would indeed help. I guess this wouldn't be a case of poor communication only._

"I wasn't even able to get most of my lunch in my stomach," Vicky complained. 

"It's better than being stuck in the dining hall with Damien," Amira said.

The reason why the friends were outside was because lunchtime was cut short, by Damien's sudden outburst and rage setting the cafeteria on fire. Again. It was far from a rare occurrence, to the point where students got used to packing their bags quicker. Amira, whose family had similar pyrokinetic abilities and mania, could always predict when Damien would create a fire. She could sense his adrenaline, and aura. She was a natural alarm to warn her friends when it was time to leave, before they could get boxed in with the unfortunate students who would be barricaded by the hungry flames engulfing them. The lunch ladies, in an unclear act of defiance, wielded their ladles and trays to fight against the demon.

Brian and his friends did not stay behind long enough to watch the epic scene. It felt like a shame for them.

"That guy needs some work," Amira declared. "I get his feelings and all, because I'm very similar to him, but he should chill out. Literally."

Vicky adjusted her bolts. "He does scare me sometimes."

Oz crossed his arms. "I cannot relate. But I can feel the terror of others, permeating through the building. It's a natural feeling."

"Don't scare us now, Oz."

"Alright."

Brian felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out, and saw that he had received a text message from an unknown number.

_**L:** This is Liam. Meet me at the entrance of the school when classes are finished, and get me to the gas station. Do NOT be late._

Brian made sure to immediately reply.

_B: How did you get my number?_

_L: I asked Vera, and she sent it to me. She has a record on you and your friends. Payback and all._

_B: I see. _

_L: On an unrelated note, your punctuation in your texting impresses me. It is nice to see that you are not like the others when it comes to such. Everyone else tries too hard to be expressive. It is too mainstream._

"Who's that?" Oz asked, looking over Brian's shoulder. He still had a lot of learning to do when it came to privacy.

"Liam," Brian answered. 

"Ah. The vampire, correct?" Brian nodded to Oz. "I feel something within him. Something beyond the fear that he can make others feel. Something unique."

"Liam loves everything that has to do with being unique."

"What an assumption. You haven't even met the vampire much, and yet there's already a stereotype applied?"

_Good point, _Brian thought guiltily. 

"Oz, I never meant the stereotype literally."

"Are you sure? I can sense emotions, especially those associated with the truth."

"..."

"Um... I apologize for creeping you out!" the entity of fear squeaked out, with his hands out to calm the zombie in front of him. "I can feel you tense up-"

"Oz, it's okay. You can't help it. It's in your nature to sense emotions."

"Uh, why are Amira and Vicky gone?"

They were missing from their spots from before. They may have decided to let them have time specially together. Brian turned around, and saw the lunch ladies escorting Damien out of the cafeteria. They succeeded in suppressing his riot. Damien, upon seeing the zombie, winked, and licked his lips.

Brian's dead little heart felt as though it was beating again.

* * *

Lessons were as usual. Brian handed in his assignment about the tomato sauce spaghetti spell for griffins, and obtained a nice 'B'. Apparently, he wasn't supposed to add salt or pepper to the pasta, or else it would undermine the purpose of the spell or cause the pasta to be covered in snot. It sounded like bogus to him, but he knew better than to counter the scary (and very miserable) Ms Lestrade. 

He reached into his parka, and found an unopened tissue packet. Before he left the classroom, he set the tissue pack onto her desk. After he left, he realized that he may have performed a dick move.

He drifted past science in the daydreaming section of his head, which was fine, because the lesson was about performing past papers on monster reproduction. It was the only module that didn't require practical testing. The teacher, Ms Feratu, eyed one particular student as she made that point clear. The student himself was a father to hundreds of children. His sperm was too potent. Also, him being oviparous very likely gave him the fertility needed for him to be knocked up. Brian was utterly bamboozled to see that the student was the closest thing to a seahorse that he had ever encountered.

He learnt that the student, due to a genetic mutation, could get others AND himself pregnant. Luckily, his children grew quicker than Polly's excitement and ghostly heart when she got her drugs. A laboratory was due to collect him for further examinations.

When the lessons were over, Brian rushed to the entrance of school to seek Liam. Liam was earlier than him, and rushing to tug him.

"We're going. Now."

"Sure." Brian rushed out of the building, while hearing Liam's rushed heels clicking on the ground. "We can use the bikes-"

"Bikes?"

"That's how I got there last time-"

Liam huffed, and summoned his hat from black mist. He placed it on his head, protecting himself from the sun rays as effective as possible. He grabbed Brian's hand, and hissed. His body began to accommodate bat's wings, and Liam's hands grew more sharp.

"Whoa!" Brian was lifted into the sky. "Uh, Liam!"

He was lifted high enough to see the metropolis, which wasn't necessary. His feet hovered in the air with unfamiliarity. Some students saw the spectacle before them, and pointed at the strange duo. 

_First, I was pulled through Hell. Now, I'm above the ground, with a high enough distance to break me if I'm dropped. Good fucking week right there!_

"Where is the station?"

"U-uh-" He looked down the street that he crossed before, and pointed to the store. "There!"

Liam huffed, and flew to the station at moderate speed. Bat's wings were not meant for quick travel.

Castalia must have meant a lot to Liam, and Brian wanted to know why.

* * *

Liam rushed into the store first, coming face to face, in disappointment, to a new cashier.

"What? No, no..." Brian couldn't believe it. Castalia wasn't there. "Excuse me, do you know where Castalia is?"

The cashier raised his head up. He was a weird fish monster. The gas station seemed to really favor sea creatures.

"You mean the nymph? She works on weekends only."

"Where does she live?" 

"Even if she is a fellow Greek, I do not know. She does not appreciate the disclosure of her information."

Liam pushed Brian aside, and slammed both of his hands on the counter.

"I am her associate," Liam declared. "I've known her since the 19th century."

"What is your name?"

"Liam de Lioncourt."

"Ah. Castalia speaks about you sometimes."

"How is she?"

"She manages. She works here to fund her water treatment."

"Water treatment?" Liam's head turned to Brian. "Do you know about this?"

"She had a special container of water strapped to her side," Brian remembered.

The cashier frowned. "She hated the thought of funding the Vanderbilt republic, just to receive her native water. So, she resisted it by using regular water, with added minerals. It seemed to work, until she collapsed one day."

"Her body is tied to the spring," Liam knew. "If she withdraws from it too long, she will disintegrate."

"She works here to import water from the spring. The reason why she's still alive is because the Vanderbilts didn't drain the spring."

"But they said-"

"They lied, until they found sources proving that certain naiads were alive."

"They are exploiting living naiads into buying the spring's water for survival," Brian realized. "They're playing real dirty here."

"Cast... shit." Liam looked online, typed her name into his search, and found nothing. "How are we supposed to...?"

"Perhaps you can find a date and location for you all to meet up?" the cashier suggested. "I have her phone number. I can let her know that you two arrived."

"Liam," Brian said, "it's not enough to just see Castalia. She still has immense hatred to the Vanderbilts for this. We may need to resort to-"

"- having her meet with Miranda, for more permanent negotiations," Liam completed. 

"... it may be so."

"You are right, Brian. We also need to help the other naiads. And if Miranda doesn't believe they exist, then we have no choice." Liam nodded at the cashier, and Brian. "I suppose I know what you will have to do for your date."

"Cool." The cashier went back to manning the cash register. "Now, are you two going to buy anything from this store?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you all in a couple of weeks!


	7. How To Deal with a Naiad (and Vampire)

The cashier, despite being very helpful, had to kick Liam and Brian out of the store in case the boss checked in.

"I can't get fired here," the cashier said. "This is the only place where I can drink in peace. You two not buying anything will probably screw me over."

"Pah..." Liam grumbled. "Such an addiction will get you nowhere."

"It's not an addiction. It's a coping mechanism. Do you know how freaking boring it is, to stand around and wait for idiots to buy overpriced products?"

Brian cradled his phone, which contained the contact number of Castalia. He brooded over the eventual conversation that would be initiated with the naiad. She needed to be lured in, without suspicion or indication of Miranda's presence. However, to solve the naiad extermination crisis, Miranda may have needed to be persuaded to help by finally seeing a naiad, in the flesh.

The cashier, fed up by the two monsters' presence, ushered them out with his many, many tentacles. Liam groaned in disgust when some slime hit his face, and Brian complied to the forced exit to not agitate the creature further. 

"That was actually disgusting," Liam declared. "If it was not for the sun still shining over us, I would be removing my shirt and treating it like how Ms Lestrade recommended."

"You're close with Ms Lestrade?" Brian asked. "Oh... right, you're both vampires."

"That did not automatically make us like each other, but it made it easier. She gave me many tips on how to effectively prevent bloodstains when dining on fresh beings. Even though I myself am knowledgeable on such an issue, it was pleasant for us to share our wisdom together. Humans can be quite pesky when you are trying to drink from them with mercy."

"You were human, too, once," Brian reminded. "Surely you could emphasize-"

Liam clenched his fists. "No. Honestly, I cannot and will not bother to. I do not owe people anything."

Brian was, again, on shaky terrain. But he dared to insist, "There are surely specks of humanity still within you."

"Oh, please. Even if there is, it does not erase the fact that I am now in a different sphere of thinking and lifestyle because of my crossing over to this realm." Liam pressed his palm onto Brian's chest, and glared at him. "Brian, you and I are similar. Why are you thinking this way so suddenly?"

"I've always thought this way-"

"You are clinging onto false hope. You have different instincts now, with that urge for you to kill and eat people. Like me. When you have such instincts to quench, you dare to preach that my need to drink blood is barbaric? You literally have to live off of eating brains."

"I... was trying to help you," Brian lied. He hoped that his charm could compensate for his slip up.

"How?"

"I was asking you to emphasize to help you drink blood more conveniently. I know things to help with that."

"Really?" Liam was intrigued, he could tell. 

"Well, before I can tell you such tips, we must find the way back to school. Can you spawn back your bat wings?"

"No. Fatigue hits me easily. I apologize." Liam's shoulders drooped. "It has been a while since I last consumed my supply of blood. I do not even know if I can make my way back myself."

"Then, how about I carry you?"

"What display of chivalry is this?" Liam demanded.

"We are partners now, working together to hopefully improve the living standards of the naiads. Surely I owe you for helping me get to the gas station?"

* * *

Carrying a vampire was not that difficult.

Liam was far from heavy, and his legs were concealed already from his purple socks and shoes. His arms were wrapped around his neck, giving Brian a nice view of the bite marks in Liam's right forearm. Liam always had to have his sleeves up somehow. That was an iconic trait of him, to not be able to stand shirts with long sleeves for any longer than several hours. 

It almost felt romantic, like those Korean dramas that even Brian used to watch. The last time that Brian was high, he found himself sobbing through a marathon of a famous TV series. He remembered not being to handle that the boy ended up ditching the girl. Again. He stopped smoking weed after that, because he woke up to his sister, poking and prodding his still body, and crying when she thought that he was dead. 

Brian promised her that he wouldn't die like that, or leave her so early. He had to be much older and wiser; he still had so much to do. Her heart must have broken when she found out about his death soon after. 

_My sweet baby sister... how did she feel when she heard about me? And saw my body? She must have been so scared-_

_Wait... but... I woke up in another location, far from the roads where I died. Surely... surely they know that I'm dead, right? Or do they think I've gone missing? No, no... that's crazy! If they know I'm dead, there's closure. If they don't know, they'll be haunted with the possibility that I'm either out there, scrambling through wherever the fuck I could be to get back, or am rotting through the soil. Fuck!_

Brian, facing his thoughts once more, panicked. He forgot that he likely didn't have a funeral, or that his family were uncertain of his death. If he had been buried, then he would have surely woken up in a coffin before his reanimation. His chest felt tight, and he felt like he was going to shake his bones off from his body.

"Brian?" 

Liam's voice forced Brian to calm down slightly. He could not bear to show Liam his vulnerability. He would not submit to an idea of that, when he was nowhere close to being on friendly terms with him. 

"Yes?"

"You were shaking just now. Am I too heavy?"

"No, no... just thinking about what could happen after this."

Lying was a relief. Being in good graces with the devils' son made that easier.

"Ah. Well, we still have to plan on where to meet up. It needs to be somewhere that doesn't get either Cast or Miranda killed. Castalia is a powerful naiad, and she will not hold back once she sees any Vanderbilts, or soldiers."

"Even though Miranda's family was the one who targeted and harmed the naiads, you hold no grudge toward Miranda? I'm impressed. It isn't easy to do that."

"I would say I am a fair individual. I cannot blame monsters for what their relatives have done when they have had no part in it. Miranda was not even born yet during the purge of the naiads. And I know her. She has a good heart, but she is obviously very influenced by her royal family's activities and agenda. Can we blame her for such indoctrination, though? Not necessarily."

"You're a very mature monster, Liam."

"O-oh..." Liam placed his face in Brian's neck, trying to hide the red coloring his cheeks in surprise. "... I mean, finally. Somebody is finally taking notice of my judgement and thinking skills. Sorry, but I am protecting my face from the sun, with the shadow of the crook of your-"

"You do not have to lie to me, Liam."

Liam's nails dug into Brian's parka. "S-shut up."

Brian could see the school in view, with the steps he had taken. "You said that Castalia is a powerful naiad. How so?"

"She's the famous naiad of wisdom."

_Shit... she must have informed me of that at least once at the store! She did give me that bamboo straw, after all, which she made herself. Who can do that if they're not smart as hell? I was thinking about pandas, but I don't think they suck from the shoots whatsoever._

"Wisdom, eh? So, she knows a lot of things?"

"Memorization of many facts is different from wisdom." Liam removed his face from Brian's neck. "Wisdom allows oneself to apply knowledge into one's lifestyle and actions. It is far from churning out trivia. When I graduate from school, I swear I am going to sue the entire system. It is a shame that no one is knowledgeable and aware about the world around us, like me."

_It's a far stretch, but maybe if we help Castalia, she can help me back?_

_This is my only shot. Maybe she has the answer to getting out of here._

"When are we going to call her?"

"Are we at school, yet? Looking forward cramps my neck."

"No, we're close, though."

"Great. We have to think ahead." Liam tried to reach into his pocket to retrieve his phone. "Uh, Brian? Can you collect my phone for me, please?"

"Which pocket is it?"

"The one at the back."

"Left or right?"

"L-left. My left."

Brian dipped his hand into Liam's correct pocket, and accidentally groped his ass. Liam growled in unease with the intimate and perverted unintended action. 

"Sorry! My bad!" Brian apologized.

"Hmph. Nice to hear that it was not intentional." Brian passed along his matte covered phone, which Liam grabbed without relinquishing his hook around Brian's neck. "In the past, it was common for me to be groped in the bars that I visited during my time in 1960's America, man, or woman, or other. The attention was so annoying."

"How was the sexual revolution?"

"Enlightening. Everything was so new to me, and with technological advancements making transport and communication so much easier, it felt like a blast into modernity. It is nothing compared to today, but it was a wonderful start after the destruction and havoc of the two World Wars. And despite the atmosphere being trashy sometimes, the experience was fun."

"How?"

"Well... sometimes... I went home with people," Liam coyly revealed. "Lights off, of course. They could not know that I was a vampire. Well, except that one time during Halloween. I thought that it would be fine if I contributed to the culture, because what better way to learn history than partake openly in what was going on?"

"Oh, wow..."

"What? You think that I am promiscuous now?"

"Not necessarily. Such open expression about sex isn't the most familiar with me." Brian saw that his words were starting to become more formal and fancy. Liam was having a strange influence on him. "When I was still alive, I was in a traditional and religious household."

"Ah. So open dialogue about sex was not available. I understand. In a way, I am glad that you do not spew so much praise about it. In fact, sex is very overrated. I am not a virgin, and I like the occasional sexual intimacy, but sex is not everything. It got ruined when it got so mainstream. You see it in advertisements, music and... ugh, blackmail. Vera's secret filming of monsters to exploit them made me go celibate for four months, once. The sexual frustration was awful."

_Geez, is everyone so damn open about everything? It's like nobody can keep secrets! _Brian thought.

"Thanks for trusting me?"

"I suspect that somebody already knows about my sexual history. Sexually active monsters have to go for free sexual health screening tests once enrolled, and are eligible to continue going. Obviously, I had to go, and answer very uncomfortable questions."

_I didn't,_ Brian realized. _Well, shit- wait, I didn't have sex in the Monster Realm yet, so I do not have to! Phew. Imagine if I slept with Damien, and had to be rolled out into the nurse's office for being immolated, AND have to take the sexual health screening test. That would be very embarrassing._

"What happens if you don't?"

"There are rumors about a truth sucking device in the nurse's office. Monsters suspected of refusing attendance despite being sexually active will have their memories forcefully scanned through, and are then scanned for sexually transmitted infections. It is a very uncomfortable procedure."

"If it's so invasive, then why hasn't it been taken to court for violating privacy?"

"What's more serious? Getting a disease unintentionally from a monster or needing to be honest to prevent such a thing for happening?"

"Regardless, fuck that shit. Safety first. I will maintain my monster virginity forever."

Liam laughed, and then placed his face back into the crook of his slightly bare and (literally) muscled neck. 

He was trusting Brian more.

"Whoa!" Brian pushed Liam slightly away, to prevent his fangs from sinking into him. "Liam, what the fuck-"

"Get me to the nurse's office, quick!" Liam urged, and passed him his phone. "I inputted the cabinet number. I need my blood supply!"

* * *

Brian ran.

Liam heaved, and tried his best to not bite the zombie carrying him. He had resorted to biting his own arm, in the same holes of where he had gotten infected with vampirism. His muffled screaming made Brian hurry further. 

"Okay!" Brian barged into the nurse's office, and laid Liam down on one of the beds. "LdLc-21! Okay!'

He walked to the correct cabinet, but found that it was locked. He looked at Liam sheepishly, and watched in horror as Liam's eyes turned redder.

"T-t-the key..." Liam reached for the key, and attempted to pass it onto Brian. "I-i-it hurts-"

"Don't worry!"

Brian quickly grabbed the key, and rushed to the lock. He unlocked the cabinet, reached for the correct cabinet, and turned around. 

Liam wasn't on the bed anymore. He was in front of him, glowering and hungrily viewing him.

"Shit!" Brian yelped, as Liam proceeded to charge at him. "Liam, no!"

Liam's nails reached for Brian's shirt, and pulled him toward him. Brian tried to open Liam's mouth with his hands, which unsuccessfully reached for his jaw.

_Speak of the devil, and the devil shall appear_, Brian instantly thought. Perhaps Damien could help him.

"Damien LaVey, prince of Hell, come forth!" Brian yelled, at the top of his lungs.

A pentagram summoned at the center of the clinic, materializing the said prince. Liam hissed at the bright light and heat. Brian pushed away the distracted vampire, and steadied himself with the vial of blood.

"Alright, who the fuck called-" Damien demanded, before seeing the situation. "Brian? What the fuck is-"

"Restrain Liam!" Brian screamed. "He's suffering from thirst!"

"Shit!" He squeezed his arms around the vampire, and tried to steady him for the vial. "Liam, please! We've got you!"

Brian opened the vial, and held Liam's jaw firmly. Several drops of blood swished out onto the floor instead of into his mouth, which agitated the monster further.

"Brian!" Damien warned. "I don't know how much longer I can hold onto him-"

Liam, with a sneaky hand, managed to tightly grip Damien's crotch in a vice-like grip. Nails included. Damien screamed in pain, and let go in agony. Liam, even when delirious with thirst, had the audacity to squeeze a demon's balls. Such an action didn't even require his elevated strength.

Liam rammed into Brian's side, but was blocked by Brian's strong legs, which held him in position as he tried to open the necessary vial to quench the vampire's thirst. As he opened it, some of the contents spilled onto his parka.

"Shit-" Brian's eyes veered to Damien. "Dami-"

Brian shrieked as Liam lapped up the blood from his shirt, and tried to suck away the soaked remains of the liquid. Liam, Brian could see, was fighting his delirium, and trying not to hurt the zombie below him. 

Brian thrust the half empty/half full/whatever quantity vial into Liam's grasping hands, and watched as the vampire downed it quickly. Brian smiled as he watched the vampire cool down, and relax from his thirst being quenched. 

"That fucking bitch grabbed my nuts!" Damien growled out, while writhing on the floor. "Agh!"

Liam, Brian could tell, was still thirsty, through his pants and gasps. He still looked like he was suffering from the side-effects of fatigue and dehydration.

"Don't worry," Brian assured, "we have everything you need! Here, let me get you more vials."

Brian grabbed the necessary containers, and passed them along gently to Liam, who graciously popped off the corks covering the tubes. He drank the contents slower, with more control and restraint over himself. Brian smiled when he saw that everyone, even Damien squirming on the ground, were fine.

"What is the meaning of all of this?" a voice boomed at the entrance of the nurse's office.

Not just any voice.

It was Principal Giant Spider. He was furious, and had another reason to increase security around Brian's quarters, which he had been intending for a while now.

They were all in trouble.

* * *

"Such an attempted murder on your classmate could have warranted an automatic expulsion from the school premises!" Principal Giant Spider boomed, at the cowering and anxious vampire. "You should have been more careful to prevent such an incident from happening, Mr de Lioncourt! I am ashamed and disappointed that a student with such intelligence and common sense would neglect that!"

"I'm so sorry, Brian," Liam whispered, with his pale face in his still hands. "Oh my god... I almost hurt you-"

"You didn't mean it," Brian consoled. He stood up, and presented himself to the principal before him. "Sir, this was a complete misunderstanding-"

"How could a threat to your life and potentially Damien's be a misunderstanding? You cannot be so reckless with your life around these situations!"

"I'm already dead, sir."

"Then you must have more concern over your second life. It is something to cherish."

_Cherish. Yeah, right,_ Brian internally scoffed.

"Sir..." Damien tried to stand up, but was still holding a bag of ice to his crotch, to soothe the ache. "I cannot see why this is fair."

Water was dripping down Damien's pants, and because of his body temperature being higher than regular monsters, let alone people, he had to reach for another bag of ice to ice his injured privates. He had ten more bags of ice by his side to aid him.

"Oh, so the prince of Hell is coaching me on what is discipline and justice?" Principal Giant Spider grumbled.

"I don't get why you're prioritizing Brian. No offence, Brian. But do you know how many monsters get murdered here every week?"

"By you, alone?" Principal Giant Spider shot back. "Many."

"Well, you said it yourself-" Damien paused to reach for another ice pack. "- I murdered... well, kinda a lot of monsters. So why have I never been warranted an expulsion warning, but Liam gets it straight away? Makes no fucking sense."

Brian sighed. He knew exactly why. But to say that he was a _ward of state_ breached confidentiality that was reserved between him and the Monster Realm authorities. It also could harm the reputation of the principal himself.

"That is enough, Mr LaVey."

"Tell me why Liam has to go through this, and nobody else does. How about that Slayer chick? How can she got scot-free, but a vampire being deprived of his fucking needs is not justifiable enough-"

Principal Giant Spider, with all of his appendages, slammed his table to stop the rants of the demon. The glass windows shook, several books fell from the bookshelves and Damien had to close his ears. Brian and Liam's eardrums had lost the sensation of pain long ago. There was a reason why Liam could endure loud music.

"Mr LaVey. Stop. Talking. This. Instant."

"I will protest against this," Damien threatened, and moved closer to the principal's desk. Some water spilled onto the wood, both the desk and Damien's... well... wood, too. "I will encourage monsters to boycott your ass and ruin the school's reputation if you don't give an adequate reason for this unfair judgement. I don't give a shit about your threats. My fathers are literally the kings of Hell."

"Any further irrational words, and I will expel Mr de Lioncourt this instant-"

"No!" Brian rushed to Damien's side, and placed his hand firmly on the ancient table. He had the right to, and forgot to avoid such a suspicious action. "Sir, please. The reason why this happened was because Liam was exhausted. We were solving the case on the naiad extermination crisis!"

"Brian!" Liam hissed, and pulled his arm. "Don't bring him into this!"

"Do you really think that we can do this all by ourselves?" Brian hissed back. 

"I had plans, and you're ruining them!"

"Brian," the principal addressed the zombie impatiently, "continue."

Brian did, because he knew that he would not listen to the others on this. The principal trusted him, and knew that his intentions were true.

He also wanted to wipe away any stains on Liam's slate. 

He couldn't bear to have their relationship affected because of this. Such good progress was worth salvaging.

* * *

"So, why are you getting vouched for by the great arachnid motherfucking a-hole?" Damien questioned.

_Oh, goody, goody! What do you get when you have a demon, vampire and a zombie all in the same room? _Brian had the answer. _Tension. Not always the good kind._

"Perhaps being a new student did the trick?" Brian played dumb, but he knew he should have done better than that. He had proved to both of the monsters before him, that he was far more capable and intelligent than what he attempted to portray.

"No fucking way, dude." Damien was obviously not convinced, after the time they had spent together. He knew him better than that. "I did not get grabbed by the fucking balls and almost suspended to hear your half-assed answer."

"Sorry," Liam apologized again.

"Nah. Don't worry. I get it. I've dealt with worse and more hysterical monsters, and sometimes people, too."

Principal Giant Spider was aware of the consequences of summoning Brian to his office too soon. Rumors would be spread around, about how Brian was the principal's new bitch. 

Damien summoned a burrito into his hand, and unwrapped the tin foil packaging, which did not burn in its supernatural transport.

"If you think about it..." Liam pulled back up his sleeves, which fell when he attacked Brian in the nurse's office. "... Brian has always been a hardworking student, who has been popular with the teachers in this semester. He is like a rare treasure to them, and evidence that Spooky High is not a travesty of a place for education all the time."

"All the time?" Brian repeated.

"How on earth is anyone supposed to be satisfied with only dodgeball for sport? And nobody invests enough in art subjects. Science, history and magic are of high standard, and I cannot give a damn about the quality of the food."

"Sorry," Damien said with a mouthful of burrito, "but I'm too busy devouring this fucking burrito. It's got beans and everything. It's so good..."

"I hope your farts do not burn this dorm down like how you made your tutor homeless."

"I even warned him! I told him that we could move the session to my dorm, but he kept mentioning on how he fireproofed his walls and floorboards. I had to teach that dumb fuck a lesson."

"... you did pay for the damages, right- oh. Of course, you did not."

"Why would I, when it isn't my fault?"

"How did you do that when you had pants on? You did have pants on, right?" Brian asked.

"Beans stimulate my bowels harder than anything else. So when I used his bathroom, it was all over from there. All I had to do was let out a bit of gas."

"Let me know when you want to fart."

"I learnt my lesson from that time."

"When was that?"

"Like, two weeks ago?"

"Can we move the conversation to another topic?" Liam asked. "Like how can we deal with the naiad crisis before us?"

"Ah, fine, sure. What is the name of the naiad, again? Iron cast skillet?"

"Castalia," Liam answered, "the naiad of wisdom."

"... fuck!" Damien grabbed Brian's shirt, and pressed his nose to his nose. "You told me that she was not a problem!"

"I forgot she was the naiad of wisdom, too!" Brian acknowledged. "My bad, okay?"

"You two are so immature," Liam growled. 

Brian was glad to divert them away from his relationship with the principal. If he had to be honest, Principal Giant Spider was like an indulgent father to him. He provided him the dormitory, the security and the pardons from many responsibilities. If he broke flasks or objects in science lesson, he would not be scolded. If he could not find a partner in dodgeball, the coach would gently ask if anybody could become his partner. Even Ms Lestrade was not allowed to threaten to suck his blood if he failed a test. Because of the trouble instigated with the nurse's office incident, the principal was shown to do a bit too much for him, even in the face of suspicious company. 

Brian was lucky that he was a well behaved student, in the vicinity of the very teachers ordered to not push him or give him a rough time, for his eventual adaption into monster society. He was lucky that he had memory, still. Vicky arrived earlier than the head honcho monsters, and had to be given years to be taught all basic life skills, such as how to speak. She was a quick learner, but she had to be hidden away before she could be introduced into the school as a student. She was immediately placed in with the new students, though she was technically not a new student of the school, in that manner.

The similarities between him and Vicky, and of her unfortunate circumstances, made him feel caring and affectionate toward her. She really tried and persevered through her trials. That, of course, never erased the fear and doubt about what would happen to her if she was released into the Monster Realm by herself.

The **Scholarship of the Lost** saved him and Vicky. No doubt there.

"We should plan a site far from water," Liam planned, "so that Castalia cannot attack. She is tremendously powerful within the vicinity of water."

"Why would she attack if she likes Brian?" Damien asked.

"We're also bringing over Miranda."

"... no." Damien stood up, gulped down the rest of his burrito, and charred the broken tin foil into ashes. "You guys are fucking insane. Do you know if this chick has other tricks, like weapon skills or whatever?"

"She used to be a pacifist, so I doubt that she developed such."

"If she hates the Vanderbilts so much, she would probably learn how to use firearms and other weapons. I would do that, if somebody kicked me out of my fucking house. Nobody touches my shit, and gets away with it."

"Just like your tutor's house when you tried to take a shit?"

"Yep!"

"No offence, Damien, but she can take you down quicker than you can blink. Water against fire does not require any further thinking to know the result. It is an a priori statement to say that water dominates fire."

"A prior what?"

"You just know," Brian answered. He knew philosophy.

"Whatever. So I can't offer support, or anything?"

"I was getting to there," Liam explained, "because when I think about it, Brian is right. We might need backup."

"Maybe you could ask Vera for help?" Brian asked.

"Why would she help an average, not rich zombie on his date with a royal?"

"Date?" Damien screeched. Brian pretended to be immersed in the view of the outside. "Brian, you're a fucking player! Damn!"

"Uh..." Liam looked at both the zombie and the demon, and blinked hard. "Is... there something happening between the two of you?"

"Kinda," Brian admitted. "I... uh..."

"No offence taken," Damien said. "I'm cool."

"Oh."

"Yeah. I was on a picnic with Vicky when you summoned me."

"I'm sorry."

"You possibly getting hurt is what's more severe, not my blue balls. Speaking of blue..." He peered into his pants. "How much ice did I put on that mighty fucker?"

"8 bags," Liam answered.

"You're just like that punk nymph."

"Do not call her a punk."

"Why? You like her?"

"We are excellent friends. Too bad you keep enforcing these heteronormative tones to everything."

"Liam, I literally have two dads that are gay as Hell. I can't go heteronormative without wanting to punch myself in the face."

"We should call Miranda first," Brian suggested, "and ask where she wants to go, first."

"I do not agree," Liam disagreed. 

"Well, then how about I call Miranda, and you call Castalia?"

"This is a joint effort, not an independent attempt! We are calling Castalia together."

Damien smacked both of them, on the top of their heads.

"Ow!" They both shouted together. "Damien!"

"Rock, paper, scissors," Damien decided, "is what will solve this. Hearing you two bicker makes me want to place my head under my damn lawnmower!"

Damien summoned actual rocks, pieces of paper, and two pairs of scissors for the decision making. 

"Do you seriously think our reflexes are that fast?" Liam pestered.

"Do you think I fucking care? I'll be the referee if this can get both of your heads out of your asses."

"Fine," Liam and Brian both agreed.

"Ready... rock..." Brian thought of what he wanted. "... paper... scissors..."

"You are so slow," Liam complained.

"Shoot!"

Brian reached for the scissors, and Liam watched in disappointment when his fingers trailed the piece of paper.

"Sharp." Brian playfully opened and closed the pair of scissors. "Like my wit."

"I-I demand a rematch!" Liam yelped.

"No can do, vamp," Damien insisted.

"Which definition of vamp are you alluding to?" Liam asked.

"Preppy asshole," Damien muttered.

Liam unlocked his phone, and as agreed, inputted Miranda's number first.

* * *

"Hello?"

"Hello. It is I, Liam de Lioncourt, an associate of Miranda Vanderbilt."

"Preppy asshole," Damien repeated.

"Er..." The monster at the receiving end was struggling. And yes, that sounded quite wrong. "... I am Miranda's calling serf. You may send messages to me on her behalf."

Footsteps could be heard, and a gasp of panic. 

"You may be dismissed," Miranda addressed the serf, and went back to the monsters calling. "Who is this?"

"Hi, Miri!" Damien yelled. 

"Damien? Why, how are you doing?"

"No!" Liam pushed Damien away from the phone. "Miranda, it is me! Liam!"

"Liam? You did a fabulous impression of Damien, there!"

"No, that was actually Damien. I apologize. I was calling to help arrange your date with Brian."

"Brian?"

"The, ugh, 'knight in shining armor' student?"

"Oh, splendid! I have been looking forward to the suitor calling himself, however, and meeting with my family to discuss-"

"Uh, Miri, we're close friends. There's no problem with us all hanging out, and having a good time, right?"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea. I have been meaning to test out my sunbathing serfs. I would not let myself get cooked like a fish in this temperature, or in any at all! That's disgraceful!"

"Sunbathing serfs?"

"Oh, yes! It would be a great idea to enjoy time at the beach, so that I can understand commoners' fascination with the sand and water. It would be a great opportunity to talk about royal matters and bond in the shadows of my guards! Daddy just got new ones. They will ensure that everything goes smoothly!"

Brian did the math in his head: _Beach = water = Castalia's wrath. Not good._

Liam had a simpler formula than that, and looked between the monsters around him in worry. "Miranda, surely we could think of another destination?"

"I have made up my mind! I will teach that knight about servitude and graciousness to the right for him to associate with a royal, if he does not take away that attitude! Luckily, I have just the serfs for that!"

Miranda then hung up on them.

"Great," Damien gruffly let out, "save me the funeral date."

"No." Liam was defiant. "There will be no funeral."

"In general, or?"

"That is a matter to attend to with your fathers, isn't it?"

"No can do. Their business literally depends on dying."

"No matter. Looks like we'll have to rely on one thing, now."

"What?"

Liam's glasses glinted. "Castalia's trust. In us. In me."

He typed in her phone number, and lowered his head. Brian mirrored his position. They needed all the luck they could get.

She picked up right away.

"Who's there-"

"Cast." Liam's eyes watered. "Cast, oh my god..."

"... Liam?"

"Yeah... it's me."

These two friends, separated for nearly two centuries, were finally reunited.

The tender and emotional moment was almost completely ruined by Damien.

"This is so mainstream," he mocked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!
> 
> I may not be available to upload so regularly, because I'll be having my mocks and actual exams soon. I will attend to this story as much as possible, though. 
> 
> While writing parts of the chapter, I accidentally closed the tab, and lost a lot of progress. I'm lucky to have not only been able to rewrite the parts, but also somewhat improve them! 
> 
> Sorry that the chapter is so long. I was intending to follow through with my plan, but then it developed into something else. I wanted to develop the bond between Brian and Liam, because I wanted them to have a personal connection, rather than only rely on the naiad extermination crisis as the only spark between them.
> 
> I'm so excited for the next chapter, though! :)


	8. The Showdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a very brief mention of the BELLANDA ending, which you may want to check out before reading this.
> 
> This chapter is the longest of the story, so far. I'm sorry if my writing skills have dwindled or have been negatively affected! I'm somewhat insecure after not being available to edit it for so long, so I am worried that the flow of it was impacted heavily.

Brian had never liked the beach.

He thought he would have liked it. He had longed to feel the idealistic vision of the beach, and of building his sandcastles and drawing whatever he wanted in the sand. When he was eight years old, he got that chance. 

He wished it was as pleasant as he envisioned it. The sea tasted too salty, and it tasted like the smell of pee to him. Pebbles used to have scraped against his delicate, and not yet hardened feet. He got sand stuck in his toenails. As the person who looked forward to the beach the most, his parents were not happy to hear that he ended up being the one who liked the experience least. He did give it another chance two years later, but he constantly got bitten by sand fleas.

He refused to go to the beach ever again because of that. But because of his mission, he was making a not-so desired return to it.

Damien and Liam left shortly after the conversation with Castalia. Damien excused himself as having to do something 'busy', and Liam had to calm himself down after the emotional conversation with Castalia. She was very grateful to Damien and Brian for their contribution to reuniting them together, and agreed to meet up at the beach. Through the quivering, but smiling mouth of Liam, Castalia was reportedly ecstatic to enter a region with a large body of water. She hoped it would reinvigorate her, after a migraine from staying on land for too long. She informed them that she would be ready in the next day.

Brian had to call up Principal Giant Spider, and beg to be allowed to have a day off. After begging over three times, the principal warned him that it would be regarded as an unacceptable absence, but Brian was willing to risk that.

Brian opened his cabinet, and found his notebook. It was filled with spell details, cures for poisons and recipes in case he got somehow stranded. He ripped out a page, and wrote on top of the page: **PLANS?**

He knew there was no guarantee that everything would be secure, but he knew that the safest action to carry out was to have Castalia and Miranda be as separate as possible from each other, until there was a way to convince Castalia to negotiate with the princess on helping her and the rest of what was left of her kind. Remembering what Liam said about naiads' potential due to their divine nature, Brian searched online with his phone on MONSTERSEARCH on naiads, and saw how different naiads were described compared to the searches in the human realm. The Historical Files of Monsters provided information of how not only could nymphs maintain nature, they were able to use it to their own advantage. There were also nymphs that inhabited the constellations and the underworld. They were global citizens, in a much broader sense than any mortal could achieve.

He quickly noted on how they behaved, and how this could dictate how they would react in certain situations. The Historical Files of Monsters was deemed largely reliable by the Monster Realm for their extensive research and countless documents on almost every type of monster that had ever existed. Starting observations as long as five centuries ago, its popularity was unfortunately overshadowed by the more popular and more accessible Wikipedia. As Wikipedia was written by humans, for humans, the representatives and members of the Historical Files of Monsters quickly held talks all over the Monster World to educate young monsters in schools that they had to be careful of what they would be exposed to. That of course did not stop Wikipedia remaining very popular in the Monster Realm, and the website's views being mostly of the monster population instead of actual humans.

Sorry for that mind blowing fact.

To bring young monsters to use the website more often, those registered in the public education system were given free access to the website until they graduated, like in primary, secondary and tertiary education. Those who were homeschooled had to face the burden of paying or being given limited access, which made many complain that if the website really wanted to step up their game, they should have prioritized allowing their information to be more easily spread than have charged 60 Monster Dollars a month to use it, like through finally securing advertisement deals. 

There were images of the naiads interviewed, with one of them being Castalia herself. The pictures were from the 1800's, shown by their monochromatic style and the dates written at the lower corner. It documented how she was receptive to the interview, and was excited to introduce herself and the beautiful spring she resided in Delphi. She herself, in her rather confusing words, mentioned how she was once a fountain. No mortal records ever recorded of her eventually breaking free of that form, and instead embracing her humanized form. Her humanized form was unique compared to most monsters, besides the undead. Her waters were used when drunk or listened to for inspiring the creation of poetry, and sometimes was used to cleanse the ancient temples around Delphi.

There was a citation on the section next to the naiad's name, of the journalist who interviewed her. The details of the journalist were that they were a trainee who desired to learn about how the Historical Files of Monsters operated. There were not many other details after that. The interview was summarized in a neat, easily read page. 

There were no details on Castalia's powers, however. They were likely edited out after the extermination of the naiads. There wasn't even information on that itself.

With the information he was given, Brian tried to write a script. Like what Liam noted, Brian was indeed creative. As a child, he excelled in English, with his stories and poems being regularly praised and presented in school. Thanks to good old gender stereotypes, he was bullied in primary school. However, after winning a partial scholarship to his middle school, he made his bullies pay in a special way.

He once helped write lyrics to the school band. He used to be proud of that, before the school band messed up the chords during assembly time, which resulted in Brian erasing his name from the writing credits. Otherwise from his failed start as a lyricist, he was a good drummer. His parents forced him to pick up the drumsticks to add to his empty personal roster of extracurricular activities. He ended up loving the drums as a way to vent out his frustrations or a bad day's unfair events. It gave him tinnitus, but he thought it was worth it. After he died, he no longer had tinnitus. Death was a cure for many aliments. 

The night came, and Brian was not ready to go to sleep. Sleep would have driven him closer to meeting with the nymph. He could not stand that. 

"I told you to replace your door, didn't I?"

A disappointed Oz opened the door from the inside, and then stepped into the messy room. Brian yawned, and tapped himself on his temple to stay awake.

"Why are you here, Oz?"

"You are thinking about the situation with the naiad, aren't you?"

"Are you reading my emotions, again?"

"Brian, is the situation keeping you up at night?"

"We're meeting with the naiad tomorrow," Brian blurted, then glared at the monster before him. "Do not mention this to Amira or Vicky."

"Vicky was anxious when she reported that you weren't in your dorm. You are giving us more worry the more you shut us out."

"I'm not trying to shut any of you out."

"Then what are you doing?" Oz stood by his side. "Tell me, Brian."

Brian remembered the feelings he had for Oz before. The after effects of the crush made it somewhat uncomfortable to be next to him. Oz's shadow buddies were eyeing Brian with curiosity, and frowning when they saw that he was not willing to be more open.

"I-I don't know. Oz, I really don't. I thought I had everything I ever wanted. I thought the Monster Realm was an escape from the already... puzzling oddities of the human world. But it isn't. There's too many similarities and parallels. I feel suffocated, regardless where I am."

"So you're trying to forget that, by throwing yourself into missions and acts of heroism?"

"You can say that-"

Oz put his fingers through the thick strands of Brian's uncombed hair, and pressed down. As his fingers strained, Brian could feel his brain seemingly gravitate around, to allow itself to be read by the very embodiment of fear. 

"Will you let me read you, Brian?" Oz asked. "All of this insecurity and trouble can be dealt with. Maybe I can help you."

_If I let it out, I can feel free. I can get a step closer to what I wanted_, Brian thought. 

_... no_, his brain retaliated, _no one will accept my desire to escape seriously. Has there been anyone who has cheated death, let alone have escaped this realm permanently? _

"One day, I will share everything that I want to say," Brian promised. "I'm just not ready today."

"When will you be ready, though?" Oz laid his head on his shoulder. "Brian, we all love you so much. Have we said that enough times, or does it never compute?"

_I love you all too. But Oz, you know very well that internal fear can chain the freedom that love can give, if strong enough. _

* * *

Sleep was Brian's best friend. He could never escape its embrace and goodwill. It was seductive, loving and necessary. Similar to the friend Brian lost his virginity to.

Except, Brian could not literally sleep with... sleep. It was not possible. And it was never able to make kick ass smores or play football with. It did not wear the corny jacket with an alien riding a UFO made out of tinfoil. It had none of the very qualities that Brian had fallen in love with before. It was good enough, and often just enough to get him through the night.

At least Oz was there to be by his side. Protective, firm and occasionally unnecessarily solitary. Oz did not really sleep, because he had no melatonin or need to do so. However, his eyes were closed, and his arms were firmly around Brian's body with clear protection. He kept him warm and safe.

_Has Oz ever done anything like this with anyone else? Even if he had only newly taken this form, he has existed for far too long to have... I mean... to not have had physical contact with a living or undead entity._

Oz evidently was nervous in social situations. He stumbled over words when speaking with others, and felt reluctant to discuss his hobbies or after school activities. He was a geek, who loved to watch anime and play video games when he wasn't studying. He loved surrounding himself with company who were uplifting and not trying to sell him drugs or exploit his countless capabilities to commit whatever acts of crime desired. However, being solitary allowed him to take in what happened during the day instead of feeling overwhelmed. Oz was an introvert who needed to recharge when needed. 

What Brian worried about was when Oz felt too scared of embarrassing himself in front of prospective friends. Oz, due to his new introduction as an interactive being who could act like other living entities that he could only merely view before, was unsure on what topics to talk about. Brian knew that this was not Oz's fault, though as a more social monster, he could not completely understand Oz's perspective.

Brian opened his eyes to the adorable embodiment of fear's face. His shadow buddies' eyes were also closed. Their hands splayed across Oz's shirt, and curled and uncurled whenever the entity moved. Brian used to fantasize and dream about being so close to his friend like this when he still had a crush on him. It was never sexual, instead, it was romantically curious. There was a difference.

He could not picture Oz in a sexual way. He could not picture tainting him that way, in that personal level. Even though Oz was clearly more powerful than him, in every single way, he wanted to protect him just like how he could protect him back. This made Brian reevaluate his personal feelings, and whether or not his love for Oz was platonic, romantic, or breaking through every barrier and saying 'fuck you' to any restrictions to such love, which was one of the purest loves he had ever witnessed. Agape, maybe, if he could ever go there.

Oz's shadow buddies' eyes opened, and excitedly waved at the awake Brian. Oz's eyes then opened, and greeted Brian's face.

"Hi," Brian breathed out.

"Hello," Oz said. His eyebrows moved cheerily. "You look good."

"Um-!" Brian coughed. "T-thanks."

"Oh, was that not appropriate?" Oz asked in panic. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry-"

"No, no!" Brian laughed. "You just don't jokingly flirt like that often. I don't mind it."

"I got that from Zoe," Oz said. "We hang around more often, and she's really sweet."

"I bet she is."

"Really. You know, since we're all going to be aiming to date everyone, I just wanted to give you a head's up. She's not as overbearing as you may think. Erase your inner predictions if you have any."

"That is really sweet, Oz."

Oz jumped out of bed, and pulled the blanket off of Brian's body to fold it. Brian had to push himself off of the bed to wake himself up more effectively, which caused Oz to drop the blanket and shield his head from breaking on the hard floor.

"Don't be so reckless!" Oz crossly warned. 

_"You cannot be so reckless with your life around these situations!" Principal Giant Spider boomed out._

"I cannot die again," Brian reminded.

Oz angrily snapped his fingers. "I know you can. Bullet to the brain. Anything to the brain, which is still in good condition. The collision of your head with the floor could have killed you!"

_Brain... good condition? _

"Any other organs that are in threat?"

"Just your brain. Your heart has stopped beating, and your lungs are mostly inactive. Mostly."

"Did you conduct an x-ray on my body?"

"I can hear anyone's heartbeat, because it helps me to detect if they are scared. You are the biggest exception."

"Okay." Oz pulled him from the ground, and Brian readjusted his shirt. "I'm sorry for scaring you."

It sounded quite funny to Brian that he scared the very being of fear himself. That was a big accomplishment.

"So far, how many monsters have you courted?" Oz asked.

"Uh, if counting Miranda, two."

"Impressive! I'm still debating about who to ask out next. After you talked about Damien treating you badly during prom night, I am reluctant about hanging around him. I'm still deciding on who to court next. I have been preparing by reading books on charisma and dating."

"What are the titles of the books?"

"Well, one of them is a famous human book, which I've heard was given a lot of backlash for its writing and content."

"Well, what's the title?"

"Twilight?"

"Ah..." He knew that book _very_ well. Who didn't, in the human realm? "Do you like it, so far?"

"I don't think the vampire is portrayed that accurately, but it shows how humans and monsters could potentially coexist together."

"Oz, I don't think the author... believes in monsters."

"B-but how? She has an entire series dedicated to them!"

"It's called literary fiction. Oz, it's not a book meant to teach about dating etiquette."

"Oh... it isn't?" Oz looked disappointed. "Zoe told me that it helped her understand how people pursued relationships for the first time, when she finally discovered her dissatisfaction with being trapped in that restrictive totem, and being expected to showcase death and destruction wherever she went."

"Oh, it can help you understand, somewhat. It's just not completely realistic. Every relationship has its own quirks and experiences."

Oz played with his own fingers. "Brian, have you ever been in a relationship?"

Brian grabbed his jacket, which he had folded by the bed. "Yes."

"Who was it with?"

"My ex-girlfriend. She was part of the cheerleading team, and I was part of the football team. She asked me out."

"What would you... do with her?"

"Hmm... various things. We watched movies at the cinema, played video games, took romantic walks, shared food and visited each other's places, if I remember correctly."

"... okay, I'll remember that. Wait, what did you two do when you visited each other's places?"

_Oh, Oz... you poor, innocent void creature..._

"We sometimes checked each other's homework." Which was not a lie. "And we were curious as to how each other's places looked like."

"Oh, speaking of places..." Oz, with both of his hands, summoned a postcard. It escaped the inky blob that it was encased in, and traveled to Brian's hands. "... would you like to visit my home, one day?"

Brian wiped away any residue darkness, and looked at the handwriting. Oz's classic penmanship politely described the address, appearance of the location, and the place's security number.

"Y-you do not have to!" Oz said. "It's just-"

"Oz, I would love to," Brian assured. "You and the others have seen my place only, so I may as well check yours out-"

Brian paused, because the idea of Oz having a house was strange. Oz did not need basic necessities to survive. He was beyond existence. And Brian was very uncertain as to how Oz got rent to pay for the place.

"Brian?"

"Oh, yeah. I'll be more than happy to check your place out, Oz."

His breath felt acidic, and uncomfortable to be dragging around the atmosphere. He needed to brush his teeth and take a quick shower.

"You better leave, Oz," Brian recommended, "because I'll be showering soon, and Liam will be on his way to my dormitory."

"Alright!" Oz opened the door, and winked at him. "I'll see you later!"

The way that Oz said 'later' sounded suspicious, but Brian forgot all about that, as soon as he undressed himself and stepped into the shower.

* * *

Liam excitedly chatting on the phone when he knocked on his door. He was wearing a hat, a blue shirt with pulled up sleeves and a pair of cream coloured shorts. He was not speaking English, which Brian found remarkable.

As an Asian kid himself, he felt awkward whenever he went to family reunions. He understood Korean, but he was not as fluent in speaking it or reading it. It was awkward to go back to South Korea and communicate with relatives he barely saw or knew yearly, and his parents regularly encouraged him to speak in it more. It was even more embarrassing for his sister to be better in it than he was, which seemed to have eliminated his American upbringing as a barrier toward learning his native language. 

He used to be fluent in Korean as a child, as it was his first language. But as he grew older, he had to interact with others in English, and gradually lost his language proficiency. Sometimes, when he tried to start conversations in Korean with his family, his father would comment that his accent had changed, which affected his confidence. 

He promised himself, one day, that he would try and improve it. School took up a large part of his schedule, and he was about to graduate. He hoped to have honed up his language skill. He knew that even in the Monster Realm, he could try and learn more about it. Having a partner to learn it with could also be encouraging.

Liam, upon seeing Brian, smiled. That smile overshadowed the sardonic, cynical persona of Liam almost entirely. It made Brian dread that Liam could easily change back into the very manner that made him feared, hated, and in a way, admired. Brian could find not much admiration in such character. His preference was different.

"Brian!" The way that he said his name too, so joyful and free of hatred, was different than their first encounter yesterday. "Have you thought about a plan yet?"

"Somewhat."

"Well, let me know about what you have conjured up. Castalia and I, as I know you saw before, are going to get supplies for the beach. I will be diverting her away before I let her know of Miranda's presence. You can trust me on this. I know her better than perhaps anyone else here does."

"Maybe that gas station employee knows more stuff."

"I will not tolerate having slime on my body like that again. I may have dealt with other more questionable bodily fluids, but I have standards. Spilling his fluids on me like that can be filed for harassment under Article 6451 in the Monster Code of Law."

"And what does that article say?"

"_Personal fluids should not be deposited on any monster, whether stranger, kin or lover, without absolute permission from the person being sprayed. _Hmm, when you asked me to recite it, I realized that it's a rather archaic law. It hasn't been used since a century ago. Probably because hot oil was not being used as a weapon as often anymore."

Brian knew he himself was not thinking about hot oil. 

"So, I heard that you were speaking in another language?"

"Ah, yes. I was speaking in Greek, which is Castalia's native language. Being a polyglot back then was not so popular. Oh, the excitement to speak badly toward other people without them knowing was pleasant!"

"You're fluent in it?"

"I had to be, before I could go to Greece. Under the conditions of the program I signed up for-"

Liam's voice squeaked. He stilled.

"Liam?"

"U-uh... right... I learnt it, because I wanted to converse with the people there. Nothing so-"

"I know it is beyond that."

"I am not comfortable with talking about it."

"Liam, when I looked up the Historical Files of Monsters, the name of the journalist who interviewed the naiads was missing. You said that you signed up for a program that required you to learn Greek." Brian could see Liam gripping his own arms, which was unpleasant to the eyes to take in. "Were you the journalist who-"

"Bold assumption of you, Brian," Liam spat. "Always have to involve yourself in others' matters. You think of yourself as such a detective?"

"Your reaction seems to show me that I'm right."

"... trainee."

"Sorry?"

"I was a trainee." Liam stopped gripping his arms. "You think fast, Brian. That's admirable."

"We should not keep things from each other if we're working together."

_Hypocrite_, the justified thought in Brian's brain hissed.

"... let's stop talking about it," Liam insisted, "so that we don't ruin what a good day this should be."

"Well, we'll need a damn load of optimism-"

"You're going out like that?"

"I'll pack my swimsuit soon."

"You have a swimsuit?"

"And sandals, too. I won them when I got first place in a History test. Good old Ms Panthera, before she ate the monster in last place, and took a mandatory sabbatical."

_It is a perfect fit, too. Disturbing... could she have eaten the owner of the swimsuit and sandals?_

"I'm very glad that we do not share the same teachers. I heard getting mauled by a tiger is the 150th most popular trend on Instagram right now." He blew out some air in annoyance. "Anything within the first thousand most popular trends should never be followed. It just proves that you're pressured into cringe inducing conformity. Avoid them."

"Sure-"

"-but if your rival photographers do follow these stupid trends, and don't make it, you have a higher chance of being recognized for your art. So, good on you if that happens to you like it happened to me."

"Um, I'm very happy for you, Liam."

"Thank you."

_So much for that shower I took. Very well, though. Time to get sand stuck in my ass, again._

* * *

"You're wearing a parka to the beach?" 

"Without it, I feel naked, okay?" Brian argued.

The beach was far. Brian learned his lesson from having a vampire fly him to anywhere, so he swallowed the suggestion of suggesting to Liam to fly him there. Brian was equipped with a backpack containing year old (not expired... yet) sunscreen, a bottle of water, his phone and portable phone charger. Liam was holding a picnic basket, which was empty to carry Castalia's and his items.

Miranda was faster than them in obtaining transportation. She was right outside the school, with a chariot attached to two forlorn women, by means of them wearing a brace with a chain attached to it. Brian made eye contact with one of them, whose face paled when he turned his face to expose his torn off cheek. She opened her mouth, but shut it, as Miranda walked toward her.

"I appreciate your creative way of transportation, Miranda," Liam commented, in a manner Brian hoped was joking, "but how do you expect this to work?"

"Silly, Liam!" Miranda cooed, and reached out to grab his hat. Liam smacked her hand in time, before she could topple over his hat, and cause the sun to kill him. "They're kelpies!"

"Kelpies?" Brian echoed.

"Scottish shapeshifters," Liam explained. "I thought they disappeared after Scotland's waters became polluted."

"They took refuge with the Vanderbilt republic when their homes were destroyed," Miranda stated, "and we allowed them to stay with us. On one condition, of course."

The kelpies mentioned fanned their faces with their hands. Brian reached for his bottle of water, and handed it to one of them, but Miranda slapped his hand away.

"How dare you water these peasants without my permission?" Miranda angrily asked.

"Miranda..." Liam cautiously said, and grabbed Brian's hand as a warning that he had done enough. "... there aren't any explicit guidelines, are there, out of the view of the royals?"

"It is a manner of courtesy that this... so far, uninteresting knight, to ask for permission of a royal first!"

"But as he is a prophesied knight, he is of blood similar to the royals! He is... divine!"

"Really?" Miranda grabbed Brian's shoulder, and shook it. "Of which kingdom?"

"Uh..." Brian tried to think of one. "It's er... um... uh..."

"Don't be shy! This isn't a good formal look, you know."

"It's called... er... 한국 (_han-guk_)."

"Han-guk... what?"

"It's a very special kingdom, with the language of... 한국말 (han-guk-mal). Its roots stretch back to thousands of years ago."

"I have never heard of it before! Is it an actual kingdom?" Miranda elbowed Liam. "Verify it for me!"

Liam eyed Brian, who was rather confused as well. "... it does."

_Wow, Brian_, Brian irritably thought, _you can't seriously have told her that you belong to this 'so-called' kingdom, when it's not a kingdom. It's a country. Did you just seriously tell her that you belong to Korea, that uses Korean, in Korean? There is no way she's going to buy this!_

"Then... I suppose I have not much to fear of whether or not your authority is genuine," Miranda decided. "Liam knows history, and I don't know enough about small kingdoms."

_I can't believe it. No fucking way, did I get away with this! Yes! Thank you, bilingual households!_

"Then, princess," Brian suggested, with more courage, "I suggest that we water these beings. We shan't make them slow down our journey to the beach."

"Fine, if you are willing, gentleman."

Brian let the kelpies each help themselves to the bottle. They acted kindly to each other, and made sure to conserve enough for each other to drink fairly. As soon as the bottle was finished, Brian quickly snatched it away to dispose of it.

"Ew!" Miranda grimaced. "You would bother to take such used materials... touched by such inferiors?"

"Better me than you, milady."

"Oh, absolutely!"

They all boarded the carriage. A serf was sitting in the driver's seat, with a whip in hand. From the passenger seat, Brian could see the kelpies' backs had several scars etched into their skin. Brian turned to Liam, whose eyes bulged in horror by such a sight as well. 

"Fuck..." Liam whispered.

"We shall be off!" Miranda ordered the serf.

The serf prepared the whip, and cracked it at where he had to. Brian closed his eyes, plugged his ears and buried his face into Liam's neck as the kelpies screamed. Liam placed his hand on the zombie's head, and whispered unintelligible words to soothe him. 

The Vanderbilt monarchy was twisted, in so many senses.

"Liam?" Miranda asked. "Why is the knight burying his face in your neck? It's so distasteful!"

"Oh, he's just too excited for the date! He's blushing like mad..." Liam lied, knowing very well about Brian's poor blood circulation, and knowing that Miranda knew almost nothing about how zombies worked.

"Oh, how flattering! Not to worry, my sweet silly savior, we shall be on our way to our destination shortly. I cannot wait to see the look on your face when you see my swimwear! I heard it is attractive. At least, daddy told me that I should be labelled gracefully at all costs, unless monsters love the risk of having their heads at a chopping block."

Brian counted up to two minutes, until he heard horse hooves clacking onto the ground. The unexpected sound triggered him to view what was happening in front of him. The figures of the women were gone, and replaced with two horses.

"Where are they?" Brian asked, picturing the women being driven away, and horses being called over to trample upon them.

Liam thumbed to the horses. "Right there."

"H-how?"

"Like I said to you before, they are Scottish shapeshifters, but they usually shift into black horses, like their forms right now."

The gloss of the horses' coat was shiny, and reflected light almost like clear, clean pools, as though water was a part of them, inside and out. It was a beautiful thing to see, and it would have been an even better experience if Brian could ignore the fact that he was seeing tortured beings. If he could have installed a mental screen, to hide the ugliness of the situation from the pretty picture he could see, he would have done it. 

"Are they also water spirits?" Brian asked.

"Why, yes!" Miranda answered. "They typically resided in the lakes and pools of Scotland, and become enhanced when in the proximity of water. I give them water on occasions, but I make sure to never spoil them, and make them take for granted their privilege of being under the care of the Vanderbilts."

* * *

Brian stopped counting the minutes. It was too tedious, too tiring and too unnecessary.

The horses were panting heavily, as the sun glowed harshly upon their scarred skin. Liam squished himself against Brian, when the rays invaded the space through the carriage. There were no curtains to shield the light away, which to Brian sounded like an excellent way to get assassinated. He knew cases of royalty who almost got assassinated this way, like Queen Victoria. The Vanderbilts were known to be ruthless monarchs, thirsty for blood instead of water, which upped the stakes of the darling young daughter of the king getting kidnapped or murdered without security.

_With the utter lack of respect of the serfs before her, Miranda could probably use them as meat shields_, Brian thought. _They're worth less than royalty. God bless the royals..._

"Liam," Brian whispered, and with how close they were, there was no fear in Miranda catching them discussing plans, "what exactly are Castalia's powers?"

"Well, obviously due to her being a naiad, she can manipulate the water around her. But as the naiad of wisdom, she can give answers beyond mortal comprehension, and predict how to solve situations if they have no simple answers. She's quite amazing, really."

If it wasn't for the twists and turns in Brian's headspace that occurred too often when reading Philosophy books, he would not have understood anything that Liam said. "Okay."

Even with his extensive knowledge of abstract concepts, Brian's churned out and verbally spoken words were simplistic. Liam had to deal with that, because unless he was registered in a class to act posh, he would not be able to alter how he spoke.

"It is impressive, though, right?"

"Well, it's hard to imagine how to define wisdom."

"Unless you are wise yourself."

"Uh, depends on perspective. Are you a fan of Aristotle by any chance? Because he said a lot about how to be wise."

"He had interesting ideas, but he was a misogynist and advocate of slavery."

"That, he was. He followed the context of his time, however. It wasn't right, though nearly everyone would have agreed with his views in that century. I suppose we have to feel grateful of the gradual beliefs in equality that we have come to this point."

"Yet it took so long. If you were born in the wrong time, everything could go against you for simply being who you are, dependent on your class, sex or other things that aren't supposed to matter."

"I think we're going too far on this. Let's go back to the topic of Castalia before our day gets ruined."

"I could speak about this all day, but alright..." 

Liam hissed, and squished closer to Brian. The rays of the sun were poking through deeper through the carriage, as though it had a personal vendetta against the vampire. 

"Okay, how are you going to meet her?" Brian asked.

"I'm picking her up at the gas station. Once you arrive with Miranda, you can enjoy your date for around an hour or so. If the sea recedes at any moment, run."

This was what Brian definitely didn't want, but had to hear. Any idealistic thoughts of this had to be chucked away in the trash bin his imagination built for obvious purposes. Liam placed several fingers in his mouth, and whistled loudly.

"What are you doing?" Miranda asked in annoyance.

"I'm stopping off here," Liam said.

"This place is clearly not the beach!"

"I'm going to go buy supplies. Would you like any sunscreen?"

"I refuse to have any direct contact with the sun while I'm there!"

"Uh huh. One for you, then. Brian?"

"I'll also have one too, please," Brian requested.

"Good."

Liam snatched Brian's parka, practically tore it off, and used it to shelter himself from the sun's rays. Brian could faintly see the figure and face of Castalia by the gas station. She was wearing a free flowing dress, which was turquoise in color and had sequins too far to see.

* * *

"We have arrived!" Miranda gleefully declared. "Time to see what is so special about this place!"

_Prepare to be disappointed, _Brian thought.

The driver serf got out of his seat, and opened an umbrella to shield Miranda from the sun, while sacrificing his own comfort. Brian reached into his bag, and handed the serf sunscreen, which he refused to take.

"Why not?" Brian asked.

"The last time someone handed me an ointment..." The serf pulled up his sleeve. Partially healed burn scars stretched across his fragile skin. "... well... I learnt to no longer accept gifts from anyone. I can't trust any sort of 'help', especially if you're supposed to be in league with the princess-"

Miranda glared at the serf, who sighed, and shut up.

There was a staircase, made out of white birch wood, that led to the beach itself. As the princess made her way down, Brian was following her, but he felt something strange pressing around his shoulders, and seeping into his shirt. He almost screamed, until his face met the friendliest face he had ever known.

"Oz?" 

Oz materialized back into his humanized form, and particles of a beach shirt and shorts reformed onto his body, too. His attire was perfect for the place and scene. "I did tell you that I was going to see you later!"

"But... why-"

"I need to see that you'll be safe. Naiads may be calm in mythology and legends, but I've encountered them before. They can be rude, prissy and dangerous. Have you ever heard the tale of Hylas and the naiads?"

"Hills?"

"Hylas. He was Hercules' lover. He got pulled into the water when naiads fell in love with him, and vanished forever."

"Isn't that mythology?"

"Still, a minority of them have those kind of tendencies. When you're a monster, you sometimes can't help but look at humans like they're toys instead of living beings, because of your clear dominance over them, and the thrill of knowing that they don't know that you exist. The power structure shows how feeble they are compared to us."

Brian shuddered, even though the sun was making him smell funky because it was hastening the decomposition of some of his skin. Oz, with his body made of the darkest shades of black, looked like he was getting cooked. From the Physics lessons that he used to take when he was in high school, no matter how much he hated them, he learnt that black, dull substances conducted heat faster than those which were silver and smooth. Oz wasn't really 'smooth'; touching him was more like touching a water bed, though Brian never minded touching him. There was nothing much that was more fascinating than being in the trusted vicinity of pure fear.

"So, do you have anything against naiads, or?"

"I never really interacted with anyone, before recently. I just observed, so there are no negative or positive feelings toward them. A suitable analogy for you would be... like watching a movie with animals."

"A nature documentary?"

"Yes! That's it! I almost forgot. It's like that, you understand? You just watch nature be nature."

"I get it-" Brian turned his head to the staircase, and saw that Miranda had already made her way to the beach. She was looking around for him. "Crap! I left her behind!"

"Oops! Sorry for distracting you." 

"You're going?"

"I'll be hiding myself. You won't even notice, but I'll make sure that you're safe." 

Oz squeezed him in a tight hug, with many arms forming all around Brian's body. While Brian wasn't a fan of embraces typically, he needed some reassurance that he would get out of this safely. It was ironic that the most scary being in the world was the most comforting soul that Brian had ever met.

* * *

Miranda wasn't wearing her usual short blue dress anymore. 

Instead, she was in an cute one piece swimsuit. None of her serfs were to be seen, and neither were the guards that were supposed to be at the beach. Brian made his way over to the mermaid, who upon seeing him, smiled gently. 

"Is it inappropriate for me to be dressed like this right now?" she asked. 

Brian's tongue couldn't move. It wasn't because he because he was amazed by Miranda's beauty. It was because his nerves were disconnected again. 

"No ah al."

"What?" Miranda asked, and brushed her hair away from her ears. "Please repeat yourself, sir."

"Just call me Brian." His tongue was back in operation, ready to ramble on for the next hours intended for distracting her. "Do not worry, Your Highness. You are dressed most appropriately."

"... you can call me Miranda."

"Oh?"

"That's... how monsters like you refer to each other... I would like to try that out."

Brian saw that her crown was gone from atop her head. She looked ordinary. 

"Um... sure."

Miranda smiled again, but later frowned. "Where are my guards? They should have been here a long time ago."

"Oh?"

"Well... no matter!" She put her hand on his arm. "If you are truly the prophesied knight, then I wouldn't mind entrusting my life in your hands!"

Guilt crept into Brian's mind, tugging at both his alive and dead motor functions to let him know that his deceit could surely create consequences.

_I am trying to save her life here, _Brian tried to rationalize. _In a way, I am her knight. Just for today. I mean, I hate pretending to be something I'm not, but... it's too late now. And should I really feel guilty about lying to someone with genocidal tendencies? She's the one worse off than me._

"Okay, so what would you like to do first-"

"Where is your swimsuit?"

"Ah, it's in my bag. My bad. I could change into it if it doesn't make you comfortable."

"... do what you want to."

"Oh, um, okay. I... won't change yet, then."

Miranda fanned her face. "My serf hasn't come back, yet! I'm not used to such poor service."

Brian opened his bag, and handed her the sunscreen. "Here. It will protect you from the sun's rays. It'll protect your skin."

"Why, thank you! But, I don't really know how to put this on my body?"

"Just squeeze the bottle, and rub it all over yourself."

"Could you do it for me? I don't really 'squeeze' things."

_So much for trying to be ordinary. Yet, what was up with her just now?_

To not agitate her, Brian agreed, and they both sat down on the sand as he got to work. As he was slathering her with the lotion, he could feel her smooth pink skin, and how she had never developed a callus or darkened skin, even on her hands. Her skin was the product of privilege, and never having to work a day of her life. Meanwhile, Brian's hands were roughened from years of playing football, and his skin was 'hardened' from countless injuries and eventual recoveries. 

"Eek!" Miranda squealed, and Brian scooted away slightly.

"What?" he asked in panic.

"I'm sweating!" She touched her face. "Ugh!"

"Oh... uh..."

"I ought to..." Miranda was about to passionately continue her complains, before she closed her eyes, and let out a long breath. "... oh, my sister was right. I'm... weak, aren't I?"

"Huh?"

Miranda combed her fingers through her hair, which got stickier from her sweat. "My sister, Bellanda, constantly calls me incapable of taking care of myself, and how I am apparently too dependent on the use of peasants, as though I'm not entitled to them! Which, as a royal, I should be. But, the more she said so, the more I began to doubt my capabilities. And..."

She cupped her yellow, fin like ears. 

"What is it?"

"My ears are cold. My warming serf would usually sacrifice his body heat for me right now..." She pinched them, and yelped slightly at the pain. "Argh!"

Brian quickly yanked off her hands. "Why did you do that?"

"I..." Her hands were perhaps half the size of Brian's, and were extremely delicate. "... I did that to my serfs all the time, when they disobeyed me. I was curious as to how they feel when I do that to them."

"Don't do that again," Brian ordered. "Hurting yourself is never something you should ever do."

"Your kindness is extraordinary, Brian!" Miranda praised. Her smile, Brian could picture, seemed powered by her charm, which made it radiate a calming energy. It was absolutely beautiful. "Usually, monsters talk to me like that, because of their, well, justified fear of me. Us Vanderbilts deserve respect, absolutely, but you mean what you say. I appreciate it. I see that you care about me."

"Um, no problem, Miranda."

"Friends can call me Miri," Miranda politely offered. 

"Miri."

"Yes. It sounds better, doesn't it?"

"Miranda is also a lovely name."

"I just want to understand what it's like to be ordinary." Her toes dug into the sand. Brian knew that she would not want to know how dirty it was. "So, stick with Miri for today, please. For me."

Instead of feeling burdened or the desire to be dissociated from the occasionally stuck up and most certainly spoiled princess, Brian found himself being roped into discovering more about the pampered, yet struggling girl in front of him; to unveil what exactly was the true character of Miranda Vanderbilt. 

"Alright."

* * *

They spoke for longer than Brian estimated. He thought that their chit chat would last, for maximum, thirty minutes. Instead, their conversations gently pushed the sun to its right direction, though forcefully enough that it moved along faster than usual.

"What were your first impressions when I first arrived in school?" Miranda asked.

He couldn't remember the day that well, because he had to remain within the vicinity of Principal Giant Spider, to guarantee his safety. He thought that Miranda was joking when she declared her royal heritage, and he laughed when she presented herself in the assembly. When she heard him, she immediately warned that she would execute the next monster who would heckle her, though she never managed to catch him. The principal called him into his office, calmly explained that, no, Miranda was not trying to be a class clown for her first day of school, and that she was a bona fide princess.

"You were clearly charming, and rich. They seemed like your, um, primary characteristics."

"You have a good perception, because that is absolutely true! My charm is from my training for diplomacy since I was three. I had several troubles at first, but of course, I followed daddy's set out plans for me. I couldn't let him down. I had to make him proud, and I did. And, well, when it comes to my wealth, my daddy has many ways of acquiring it. As he always says it, when you're too weak, you just have to yield to those more powerful than you. It's only fair! Without such principles, the hierarchy would fall. And then, what?"

_Ever heard of master morality by Nietzsche? _Brian almost responded. _You may like that guy. He's weird._

"Oh..." Brian meekly responded. "You have a good relationship with your father, then-"

"My first impressions about you were not so positive. Sorry to say that. I mean, you're a zombie, and you look funny at certain angles." She apologetically patted his shoulder. "But... wow! Not only are you a prophesied knight, but you are a very kind individual! Perhaps I may have misjudged you, though my perception is usually more accurate than this, that if you of a lower class, you tend to be more aggressive, and less civilized. Why are the rules placed like this, if they aren't true?"

The correct answer, would be that _it is to preserve the power of those in top, and the those lower cannot topple over such power_, Brian knew, but not what Miranda wanted to hear. "It makes sense more, to monsters like you."

"It does. So, ideas such as democracy and... so called 'equal rights', makes no sense! Why would you want to seek something else than the power of monarchy? We have been given our position for a reason. We are meant to rule over those below us, and tell them what to do. It's much easier, and simple than giving the power to everyone. It's clearly inferior to our system!"

"How?"

"Do you know how slow the airpeople are in their legislation? They took two months to decide on whether they wanted to use their budget to install their nationwide charity or fifty homeless shelters, and two years to decide how to revise their currency. Democracy leads to slow decisions. It's bad in urgent situations."

Brian could see what Miranda meant, even if he didn't agree with the style of government which Miranda advocated for. As an American, even as an individual standalone, he could see divisions in opinions and beliefs, even in his own family. Nobody can help it; everyone is too different from each other, hence democracy could be difficult to navigate through at times. It had taken many years for America to overturn past reactionary general opinions such as on race and sexuality, and there are still traditional beliefs that exist. 

"It can be problematic, yes."

"Hence, the airpeople need to be tamed, and brought down! Those ideas cannot be brought to fruition, even if it means through suppression!"

"Whoa!" Brian couldn't find anything good with that. He pressed his hand onto her knee, and squeezed it. "Why?"

"Because their views are inferior to ours. As someone from a monarchy, you would definitely understand! They have always been the enemies of the airpeople. Their socialist ideas, beliefs in the crashing of the hierarchy... they are nothing more than stains that need to be wiped away!"

"Miranda- um, Miri, have you ever sat down and thought that, maybe, such hatred is hindering your ability to understand them?"

"What more to understand, than acknowledge that unless we take over them, they will be the threat to the well being of my way of life?" Miranda countered, and squeezed Brian's hand on her lap. "I didn't hate them when I first hear of them. I initially held no such prejudices. But as soon as I heard that they refused to listen to daddy, I knew that I could never be positively affiliated with the airpeople. That is impossible."

"But from what I've heard, deep down, you don't really hate them, do you?"

"Of course I do! How could I ever bring myself to like monsters... not like me?"

"Really? How about Calculester? He's among the biggest pacifists we know. He hates the idea of violence, which would include the suppression of enemies."

"It's because of how he is made, correct? I was taught briefly in computer engineering, and I heard that sentient computers have a particular, what is it, database? Is that right? Well, if he becomes a threat, his database can be corrected."

"Though, would you ever forgive yourself if you did that?"

"Why not?"

"Then, you'd be looking at a false identity. The new being that you have created would no longer be Calculester, would it? He would sharing the same body, yes, and speak in the same voice. But he would never be able to be the very bot that he has strived to be. If you did that to him, then you would have made him believe in something that he never did believe in. And I know that he is impressionable, but you can't deny that he is happy with what he believes in now, right? He may be a pacifist, but you know that he would fight for what he stands for."

"..." Miranda removed her hand, and brushed several strands of hair away. "... I suppose."

"And... you don't have to apply this right now, if you don't want to. You don't have to think about it now. But, if you think about the airpeople-"

"You're trying to make me like them?" she accused. "No, no. That can never happen. They are not worth my respect or sympathy. How dare you suggest that? Now that I think about it... are you a spy, working for them?"

Brian raised his hands. "I promise I'm not a spy. I'm just asking you to think differently. Just... think. It wouldn't hurt, and it would help justify your opinions."

"..." Miranda sat up, and closed her eyes. "Tell me what to think, then."

"Imagine that you are an airperson."

"Yuck, disgusting!"

"Just for a while! Just, imagine."

"How? To imagine being one is disgraceful, at best!"

"It's like roleplaying! You know, how one often plays the knight, or the princess, in theater performances." While he sounded like he was reinforcing a stereotype on the princess, Brian knew that Miranda was obsessed with princess stories. She was living in one. "In this, let's say, mock 'performance', you are an airperson."

"I'm the bad guy."

"If you say so. To be a good actor, you try to understand the role and background of your character, even if you don't like them. Heck, you can even use this experience to help you in lessons at the auditorium!"

"Whoa, you're right! It's been difficult to find roles that were perfect for me, besides the princess, because I couldn't understand what it was like to be all the other crummy roles. Now I can understand how Zoe and Damien feel whenever they roleplay as characters!"

"Wait, what?"

"Yes! They love roleplaying, on this game called Dragons and Strongholds!"

"Uh, Dungeons and Dragons, right?"

"Huh? Is it that? I was informed that Dragons and Strongholds is a so-called 'knock off' version of the game, and that it was trying to avoid something called 'copyright'. I don't understand what they mean, however. But Damien regularly chooses the wanderer, and Zoe picks the wizard. Sometimes, some of the character pieces is immolated or sent to an alternate dimension, but I heard it is very fun to play!"

"Cool. So, then let's have you roleplay as the airperson. I set the background, and you envision yourself as the character. How about that?"

"Huh!" Miranda closed her eyes. "Why do I get the peasant character piece?"

"Because... nobody else wants it, and as a glorious heir, it is your duty to ensure that the monsters under your rule learn to be generous?"

"It sounds like you intentionally said that to evade something else, but it sounds believable enough. Continue!"

Luckily, Brian's charm was not in short supply. He was lucky to have not skipped his previous dodgeball lesson, even if he would have preferred skipping another one. 

"Okay. So... you're an airperson. You live your own ordinary life. You..." Brian quickly whipped out his phone, to research about how the airpeople lived. "... go to your local town, and pick groceries. You decide to get fresh... hail from the clouds, because hail is a... cheap way to operate the cloud refrigerators. Yeah, uh, that's interesting."

"Huh." Miranda opened her eyes, slightly. "The airpeople live like that?"

"You never knew?"

"Only about their political ideologies. Not about their daily lives, much."

"Then, this will help you understand how they live."

"Hail... okay..."

"So, erm, next, you go back home. You greet your children. The average number of children born to the airpeople is two, because airpeople fertility relies on... uh... what?" Brian spluttered. 

"Um..."

"You have two children, and you love them. Does that sound clearer?"

"Yes."

"Okay, good. Sorry about that rocky start. Then, you load your fridge with your fresh, lovely hail, and you tell your children that you'll be making dinner... It is... boiled strix porridge, with a tablespoon of salt and a fine dash of cinnamon, print my homemade recipe at-" Brian found himself face to face with an advertisement, showing a not so tasteful picture of the strix porridge. "Nevermind. Just... dinner."

"My patience with this activity is wearing quite thin," Miranda warned. 

"I will be more concise as I go on."

"And how long will that take?"

"I'll do my best." The pressure was on, to see if he could encourage Miranda to be wary of her father's teachings. "So. Someone invades your place. Tells you that you are under their control, and that you must abandon your way of life. What is your way of life like, Miranda?"

"I get waken up by my maid, get my hair done by my hair serf, and have my homework serf do my homework for me! That's how my life is, typically."

"Okay... so imagine if someone goes up to you, and tells you that you can not live like that anymore. No maids, no serfs to do your hair or homework."

"Well, that's alright!"

"Really?"

"Yes! We have slaves below the kingdom who help heat the furnaces. We unchain them when we need them, so they can replace the serfs!"

"What if the same monster tells you that you aren't allowed to have slaves, either?"

Miranda gasped, and slammed her hand in the sand. "No! That's... that's encroaching on my rights as a monarch! How could they? So despicable!"

"Um... yes. So, imagine if the Vanderbilt monarchy invades the airpeople's home territory, and tells them that they cannot live in their socialist republic anymore. No more delicious strix porridge, you cannot collect hail like you used to."

"Minor inconvenience for a greater cause."

"But it's not just a minor inconvenience. That will stretch to more. No more..." Brian pulled out his phone again. "... festivals, holidays of your national heroes, cultural practices, and more. All of it, wiped out. You're now forced to conform to what others tell you, and forced to forget your identity."

"Minor inconvenience for a greater cause," Miranda repeated. "Serves them right to be inferior naturally."

Brian sighed angrily. "That's not the point of the lesson, Miranda."

"Lesson? When were drama lessons meant to teach you how to act like the liberal propaganda strewn across this city?"

"By understanding other monsters' perspectives. That's... how you become a good actor."

"But I can't understand."

"Why not?"

"Because I..." Miranda began to look less confident. "I... I can't. Because if I do, I would be betraying my republic. My family. It's irrational. It's disgraceful. How could I even fathom to do so?"

"So, you were never allowed to think about others?"

"I mean, why should I, right? It's not my beliefs that are the problem. It's no one else's business. And if monsters hate that, then fine! They're the ones straying away from the truth, not me!"

"But that's not right, Miri."

"Why?"

"You said it yourself before that. That you wish to understand what it's like to be ordinary. You are blocking yourself from understanding monsters from a different viewpoint, because you have never been allowed to think in another perspective. Or... think independently."

"Are you calling me mindless?"

"No. You very much have the ability to reason, Miri. But you don't know how to, because you weren't taught to."

Miranda huffed and clenched her fists. "So you are calling me mindless."

"Your mind is in a state of defense right now. I understand."

"How can you understand what it's like to be me?"

"Everybody can understand having strongly held beliefs. But not when those beliefs hurt others. And your beliefs hurt... a lot of monsters."

Brian expected Miranda to argue against that, but she bit her lip in worry. "Oh... right."

_How can Miranda not see that was obvious?_ Brian thought. _Or... is it because...?_

"I guess you can see why monsters don't understand you, and why they don't understand your perspective, and why they don't want to be under your kingdom. Miri, this may sound harsh, but you probably knew that-"

"So... that's why... monsters act in obligation rather than respect..." Miranda said. "And why... I never had friends when I was younger."

_Oh. Oh, shit,_Brian thought.

"You didn't?"

"Well... I never fit in. As soon as one of my classmates bullied me and got sentenced to death by my father, nobody wanted to go near me. They were too scared."

"Uh, was that classmate named Barry Wikva?"

"Yes, how did you know?'

"He's remembered as the youngest monster to be sentenced to death."

"Really? He wasn't that young."

"He was seven, Miri."

"Oh. I wouldn't say that's young enough to be considered the youngest. The Vanderbilts do not have a limit to the age when someone can be sentenced to death."

"I see..."

"Within that year alone, I withdrew from the school, and was tutored. It was better to be left alone than be scrutinized. But I didn't want to remain like that forever. I could have been educated until I reached of age, but I even became jealous of the regular peasants. They went to school, and were able to from friendships and bonds. I could only speak with my family, and tell the serfs and slaves what to do. Because of my position, I wasn't expected to converse with them freely. Life was lonely. I almost gave up the thought or opportunity to form friendships. It felt like a fable that would never come true; to expect that I would ever experience the joy of friendship."

"Oh, but you wanted to experience it?"

Miranda nodded, her eyes starting to become wet. "So badly. I thought that nobody wanted me. It was horrible."

"I'm so sorry, Miri. I... understand."

"How? Do you see how monsters admire you? You bring hope to whoever joins you in dodgeball, you add essence to plays from your terrific acting, you're... you're everything that defines popularity, Brian!"

Brian was good at dodging and picking up balls (in either context, really), and his acting and adlibs were subtle ripoffs to all of the plays, dramas and Nicolas Cage movies he used to watch. He really loved Nicolas Cage. There was just something about him. But even he understood what it was like to be cast aside.

"Well, from where I'm from, I wasn't liked for who I am."

"And that was...?"

"I am Korean."

"Is that a fancy title from the kingdom you're from?"

Brian smiled half-heartedly. Korea _was_ a kingdom. "You can say that."

"So why would they hate you if you were so respected?"

"I... lived somewhere else besides that place. A place where there were less people like me."

"People?" Miranda gasped, and touched his skin. "When... you were alive?"

"Yes. And I was wondering why they didn't like me. I could speak like them, and I even acted like them on many occasions. But no matter what I did, to some of them, I wasn't like them enough. I was too different. I felt ashamed of who I was because of it, even if it wasn't my fault I was born the way I am, and that I was raised the way that I was."

"Did you kill someone to bring that about, like me?"

"No."

"Then I guess you partially understand my situation." Miranda drew some doodles in the sand absentmindedly. "So... when did you make your first friend, then?"

Brian, when remembering who that one friend was felt all his emotions pour in fluidly, and emulsify into a mixture of everything. "In my second year of elementary school, I met this boy. He didn't care about who I was, or how I acted. He just cared that I was by myself, refusing to talk with others. So, he sat with me on the first day back, and introduced himself. He opened my perceptions toward people, and instead of remaining socially distant, I became more open to speaking with others. He helped me."

"Wow..." Miranda whispered, as though Brian told her a beautiful story. In a way, it was one. "How is he now?"

"I'm separated from him."

"Why?"

"I'm dead."

"Ah. That can be a problem, sometimes..." 

"Sometimes?"

"You're somewhat alive now. Why can't you see him?"

"Does the word 'dead' not explain enough?" Brian was joking.

"Not really," Miranda wasn't, "because you can leave the border, can't you?"

"No."

"What? But..." Miranda paused. "But... I would do anything to reach my friends again!"

"Even break the laws set up by your own family?"

"I..." Miranda thought about it. "Daddy would understand. He wouldn't want me to be unhappy either. He cares about me, and knows how much they mean to me."

"So he would break his own laws to make you happy?"

"If possible, which isn't always. But he would never hurt my friends. They mean too much. They welcomed me for who I was, not caring about my flaws or my actions. They saw me for me first, and they don't pressure me, not even to join heists, and Vera is always looking for a partner. She stated that I should never join her for that, because I don't 'deserve to have the responsibility eventually pinned on me so that she can go scot-free, and I end up in the slammer'. Or, something along those lines, I suppose."

"Uh, yes. It is for the better, then."

"It's nice to see that she, and the others, care about me. And... you also care about me, Brian. Thank you."

"You don't have to, Miri."

"But why else would you be with me now? You fabricated that silly excuse of a naiad assassination attempt just to see me!"

"Um, that's not fabricated-"

"And you... you don't want me to be ignorant. Just because I'm young, monsters think that I'm incapable of thinking beyond what I know. You think that I can. You believe in me, Brian. No one has believed in a Vanderbilt monarch as strongly as you, genuinely. I do owe you a thank you. It is the least I can do."

"Miri, but the naiad-"

"I should try and negotiate terms with your kingdom, and see if we can make a deal. For such a kingdom to breed soldiers with such good manners is commendable!"

"Miranda!"

Miranda squealed, as she was tugged away from her position by an arm of water. Brian stood up, and was face to face with a smiling, furious, beautiful being, with the perfect face and body of marbled classical statues, and the hatred and will of the gods themselves. Liam was not in sight.

"Brian," Castalia greeted. "Who have we here?"

* * *

This wasn't good. 

"Castalia," Brian greeted. "You have arrived."

"What the hell are you doing," Castalia seethed, as she tightened the water's grip on Miranda, "speaking with the daughter of the very monster who destroyed my home? My life?"

"Y-you..." Miranda muttered, realizing that Brian had never lied to her, and that in front of her was an actual naiad. "... naiad..."

"I was wondering why the Republic's guards were on their way to the beach, and getting themselves cooked while wandering around in their disgrace of iron uniforms. Iron uniforms. What were the designers of the armor thinking? I had a lot of fun paying the favor of the genocide they had brought upon my sisters. Liam tried to stop me, but... I... couldn't. It was impossible. How could I, with everything that had been done to me?"

"Castalia..." Brian tried to appease the situation, without anyone getting hurt. He needed to be careful. "... I was trying to help you."

"You're with her?" Miranda shrieked. 

"Ah, did you do this for me?" Castalia chuckled. "Why, thank you, Brian. What a perfect treat, after a century of heartache and neverending migraines. This is about as good as a cure. Almost."

"That's not what I was trying to do!" Brian said. "I was-"

"Oh. So you're actually in good graces with her?"

"I was trying to convince her about your existence. I wanted... I wanted to help you!"

"Help me? A complete stranger?" Castalia sneered. "Oh, really? Or were you trying to kiss the monarchy's ass, so that you too could share in the riches for finding and exterminating the last of my kind?"

"What... no! Castalia, I wasn't-"

"Because that sounds more probable than what you are telling me! After all I have told you, who wouldn't do so?"

"Castalia, I swear, I wasn't trying to!"

"Help!" Miranda screamed. "Help me!"

"No one's coming to get you now, little girl!" Castalia yelled, and began to squeeze tighter. "Any more struggling, and I will not hesitate to bring you pain like you've never felt before."

"Miranda is nothing like her father! He's the one to target, not her!"

"How dare you speak that way about my father!" Miranda squealed. "He would not tolerate your insolence-"

Castalia constricted the water, which enveloped around Miranda like a snake. Miranda choked.

"I have lived through many kings. None of them ever learnt how to treat nature with respect. They merely suffocated it. It was the previous kingdom. I tried to protest against this. I spent centuries, begging to be heard and listened to. Almost no one did. But the previous Republic cared. They tried to preserve the rivers in which we belonged in, and we agreed to cooperate to keep our ancient homes safe."

"T-t-t-" Miranda struggled to breathe. "What-"

"I wonder what your father told you about the previous Republic," Castalia wondered. "But I can expect the obvious, can't I?"

Castalia loosened the water's grip, so that Miranda could talk. "D-daddy told me that they were weak, and that they didn't know their place as monarchs."

"They were the only monarchs who dared to save us. And your family..." Castalia's eyes, previously coated with a calm brown, glowed dangerously brightly. "... well... what can I say, when my actions can express my anger better?"

"Castalia-" Brian reached over.

"Brian, don't," Castalia warned. "I don't want to hurt you."

"This isn't going to help you!"

"How would you know that? How would you know what it's like to be wiped out, and fucking thrown away like you aren't worth living?" Castalia screamed. "How?"

Her anguish worsened the impact of her power. The water around them began to swirl dangerously, like a developing tsunami. The sand began to be sucked away. Brian knew that she could have easily brought enough momentum to threaten a large chunk of the city. 

"You're right. I don't." He stepped forward. "My grandparents do."

"Oh?"

"They survived war atrocities, and because they were a protectorate of a bloodthirsty government, they witnessed horrors unimaginable. And just when they thought years of Japanese occupation were bad enough, they were separated from each other, when governments clashed in the North and the South. I have family I may never see, in an area feared by nearly all."

Castalia's muscles loosened. Miranda looked as though she could breathe again. The tsunami, while at high intensity, wasn't enough to create enough havoc yet. She was listening attentively.

"So you used to be alive."

"Why does everyone get surprised by that?" Brian asked. "What, do people think I was born a zombie? Do I look that old? Shit, is my reanimation so severe that-"

"You are still young. I expected you to be older, with your maturity and attentiveness I had observed when we first met. It appears the younger generation does have potential, and don't always mindlessly practice what their forefathers said."

Castalia glared at Miranda shortly after saying that. Miranda frowned.

"I was. It doesn't matter now, does it?"

Castalia squinted her eyes. "In a world where monsters and magic exists, do you believe that immortality is ever going to be available?"

"No. Why would God trust beings like us to live forever, when we know nothing else but to destroy ourselves?"

"Do you mean monsters, humans, or both, Brian?"

"I don't know enough what it's like to be a monster. I tried. But... I can't. I don't belong here. I tried to adapt, but I failed."

_Just like how I'm going to fail now. With Miranda's life cut by a fucking naiad. Second chances, my ass. _

_Unless...? _

"Life can be unfair. I had trusted the will of many, only to have been cut down by silly rules and mistaken obligations. I suppose we understand each other in this sense."

"I suppose," Brian mumbled.

_Spell #11 from Spells class... come on... think..._

"And you must understand me when I tell you to leave. I appreciate your efforts, but... I must do this. I must incite a rebellion against King Vanderbilt, and bring him down. I must ensure his head topples with the rest of his dynasty, for everything he has done to me and my sisters. Enough is enough."

_Quicksands... chant three times, and..._

Brian, in a major leap of faith in his shitty memory, leaped toward Castalia.

"What-" Castalia gasped.

"Quicksand, quicksand, this is my command!" Brian screamed. "Listen to me, beach, or I'll bitch smack you with my hand!'

He adlibbed the last part. Learning spells wasn't the most difficult thing in the world, because if the exact spell is paraphrased or spelled correctly, it works. Sure, remembering the exact spells guarantees an A*, but not everyone is committed to that much effort. Especially Brian, who was a B student, and proud of it.

Castalia stumbled, and lost her grip on the mermaid princess. Brian jumped in the air, caught the princess, and pointed to another direction.

"Run!" Brian screamed. "Get out-"

A huge wave of water smashed against his head. He heard bones squeak against each other, as though he was a robot suffering from loose bolts. He fell onto the coarse sand, and felt how horrid it really was. Pebbles underneath the sand scratched his face, his hair was literally sanded and his mouth was filled with sand. He coughed heavily.

"Oh, is your mouth dirty?" Castalia cooed mockingly. "Let me help with that."

This time, Brian's head was below the water. He tried to raise his head up, but the force of the water was too strong. He was going to die if she continued like this. He screamed, but the water muffled his voice, and it only filled his lungs with water. 

The water then receded. Brian gasped a much needed breath of air.

"Don't make me kill you, Brian," Castalia begged. "You have so much potential, and you shouldn't waste it on a worthless heir. Let me do what I have to do, and I will help you. Do not waste this opportunity."

She raised her hand, and summoned a golden, gleaming xiphos. It was surrounded by a bubble, which popped and released a stream of water as it touched her palm. Her feet hurriedly ran faster than Miranda's pace, which was unused to such physical activity, let alone sprinting to save her own life. Brian struggled to stand up, and understand what Castalia told him.

_She told me she would help me, if I let her kill Miranda. What does she mean? And... why am I curious about this?_

He felt himself hoisted up by someone. He turned around, ready to attack if needed.

"Liam!" He came face to face with the vampire, and almost didn't notice his injuries. "Castalia-"

His hat was the only thing unaffected about him. Liam's face was streaked with blood. His glasses were cracked, and his clothes were tattered, as though _he _was the one who got whipped around and faced the brunt of Castalia's wrath. Around his waist was Brian's parka, which snugly hugged his hips. At least his parka made it. That thing was almost invincible. 

"Fuck, Liam!" Brian exclaimed, and touched his face. "What the hell happened with you?"

"Stop her."

"Liam, you-"

"Go." He pushed Brian forward. "I'll... I'll catch up."

* * *

A massive shower of rain was brought down onto the beach. Considering the weather was meant to be sunny that day, Brian and Liam were the catalysts to the ruining of many monsters' well needed holiday rest. Brian caught his shirt, which was flying in the air from the pull of the winds, and put it on hastily. It was far too damp to be considered comfortable, but it was good enough. He didn't feel as naked now.

He had to place his hand above his forehead, so that he could shield his eyes from the torrents of water pouring down, to see where Miranda and Castalia were amidst the chaos. He couldn't see or even hear Liam near him, and in his condition, Liam was surely vulnerable, and prone to injury.

"Shit!" Brian hissed. He didn't know how he was going to solve this situation. "What do I do?"

He tried to find his bag, but it was almost impossible to find it. He walked faster, his attention to the environment sharpening as he made his way over to the edge of the beach, until he was far from the lifeguard posts and the staircase which led to the exit. There was nothing but sand. It was like being in a desert, and things in sight were a mere trickery of the mind, because there was nothing when Brian swore he caught a glimpse of something important. It got to the point where when he saw a glint of gold from the corner of his eye, he dismissed it. He shouldn't have.

Before he could acknowledge the presence of the naiad, he was encased in a cage of aqua, where he was restrained, and face to face with one of the most beautiful and dangerous beings he had ever encountered. While he had slain dragons and witches before, he had never felt his adrenaline peaking because of his panic or his electrical impulses going haywire because of how stunned he was from such beauty. He didn't find dragons sexually attractive, and witches tended to be much older than him, though by that logic, Castalia being thousands of years old should have met such.

"You turn down even the knowledge of overcoming death?" Castalia tsked. "Wow. You truly are ignorant of the blessings of the divine."

"Overcoming... death?" Brian repeated quietly. 

_That's impossible! What the fuck is she on about?_

"Asclepius was famous for having brought Hippolytus back from the dead, with his extensive medical knowledge. Asclepius' cure is a complex, but possible formula to concoct. It has many requirements, but if you stayed put, I would have helped you achieve them. I would have returned you to your own people, for the comfort you have brought me within the several minutes we had known each other. Instead, you chose the path of temporary pleasure. I am disappointed by your selection."

"And bullshit is bullshit!" Brian roared. "I don't believe you!"

"Knowledge grants the ability to understand others, and what is best for them. You stated that you can never adapt to this world, so I could have opened another path for you. A path taken away from you, because of unfortunate circumstances. I can still do it. But this is your last chance. Cease your useless efforts to help someone who will never repay such gratitude back, and will only cause the death and destruction caused by the Vanderbilts to magnify. This is among the things I can do for you, for allowing me to ascend as the one who destroys the Vanderbilt Republic."

Castalia was right. A world without the Vanderbilts was, theoretically, a much happier place. Monster species of low numbers could return to their original habitats, and repopulate. Cultures lost during their regime could be revived. Monsters wouldn't be barbecued for eating fish within the vicinity of certain royalty. That last part wasn't guaranteed, because there were countless stories of monsters being immolated for no particular reason, either. But the message was clear. The Vanderbilts were too dangerous, and if they were gone, the threat to the existence of countless monsters would be eradicated. And Brian almost gave in. He knew how tyrannical regimes could hurt people through his own family history. As the purpose of history is to teach people how to behave better, Brian could have ushered in a better style of government. He would have been a hero, liberating the peasants from their ruler. 

And to be reunited with his family, and reintroduced into the human world was a tempting offer. He needed to see his family again, and he never fit in with the Monster World. He couldn't. He would never be as strong as his peers or adapted to the his weird second life. If he was gone, it wouldn't make a difference. Monsters come and go all the time. He would just be another brutal fact of nature, only instead, he would be fulfilling his duty of going back to where he belonged.

But Miranda was not her grandfather. She wasn't the mastermind behind this. Her ideals were very much unflattering and downright disrespectful, according to Brian, but she was raised to be like that. She didn't devise the very plot to exterminate monsters for not being like her. And from speaking with her, Brian knew she was intrinsically polite, and genuinely cared for the monsters she loved, even her own father, who was a monster in himself, and perhaps one of the most brutal monsters to exist. When she told Brian she would do anything for the monsters she loved, Brian believed her, because she had struggled so hard to gain the friends that she finally managed to gain. She found monsters precious to her, and she treasured them more than the treasures of her kingdom.

Okay, that was probably a stretch. She probably would have sacrificed a friend or two to keep her serfs and servants. But Brian knew that Miranda could be shown to be more compassionate than her father. It would just take a long time. Brian estimated around a decade, and as Miranda was not the first to the throne anyways, that was better than doing nothing. He wasn't going to give up on her. But before he could tell that to Castalia, he was let go prematurely from his cage, and landed on another bed of coarse sand. He was starting to hate the beach more than he already did.

"What the-" Castalia gasped out.

A swarm of darkness surrounded the naiad, which gave Brian enough time to regain his footing, and run toward who helped him. Oz stood in front of a shaking Miranda, who was hugging herself. 

"Brian!" Oz exclaimed in relief, and hugged the stunned zombie. "Gosh, I'm so happy that I came with you!"

"I'm so happy that you came, as well," Brian said in the same tone of relief, and almost completely dismissed the accidental sexual connotation to what he just said. "How long will it be before she breaks out of there?"

"Virtually indefinitely, but my priority will be to protect Miranda from getting hurt. Can you talk her down?"

"She wouldn't appreciate my words. We're merely acquaintances, and I betrayed her offer again. She wouldn't want to hear whatever I say."

Oz's eyebrows raised. "Offer?"

"Um, I'll explain later-"

"What is going on?" Miranda asked in panic, and shivered where she stood. "Is... is she trying to kill me? What did I even do?"

"Remember when I told you that it's harder to follow others' beliefs if they end up hurting other monsters?" Miranda nodded to Brian's words. "You're right. You did nothing wrong, but this is a byproduct of your grandfather's actions."

"So..." Miranda tried to understand. "She's acting this way... because of what my grandfather did?"

"Yes. But don't worry, we'll protect you."

Miranda's eyes glinted strangely. "Oh! I understand now!"

"You do?"

Miranda smiled. "This is a lesson! A trial! You brought her here, to educate me on how to be a better actor, too? Wow! That's a lot of effort you have put forward! And the environment here, too! This is far more impressive than the repressive and boring surroundings of the auditorium! And let me say, she's an amazing role model, making me understand the intensity of how other monsters feel about each other's perspectives! I can practically feel her rage, as though she's really trying to kill me!"

"Uh..." Oz squinted at Brian, who gave up on telling Miranda more. "... yeah. Yeah, that. Um, Miranda, how about you take a walk with Oz for a moment? I need to speak more with your... teacher that, I... hired."

"Why, I would!" She patted Oz's shoulder. "Which kingdom are you from?"

"Let's walk to somewhere more comfortable, first!" Oz suggested. "Brian... when do you want me to put down the cloak of darkness?"

Brian knew that trapping Castalia would potentially worsen the environment around them. The rain was ruthless enough, but that was nowhere close to Castalia's maximum potential. 

"When you and Miranda are safe," Brian ordered, "drop it."

* * *

_I'm fucked. _

Maybe Brian should have asked Oz to have extended the time by about ten minutes. But it was too late now. He just had to hope his conversational skills were appropriate enough to soothe the raging Greek spirit. He still couldn't see Liam, so he hoped for the best. He forgot spell #100, which enhanced luck by up to 40%. Spell #100 was dropped from the school curriculum, when it was deemed a placebo rather than an actual spell. Considering it was manufactured by the same founder of the monster cereal brand, Luck Spellcasters (which totally wasn't a rip off of Lucky Charms), it wasn't so surprising.

Brian even wished for a placebo to save his own ass from extinction. 

The cloak began to disintegrate, and with each part of it disappearing, the glint of Castalia's xiphos grew brighter.

"So you went against my offer again, Brian..." 

"Technically, no," Brian pointed out. "You were intercepted by something else."

"The being of darkness themself," Castalia noted. 

"You know Oz?"

"Oz?" Castalia repeated. "So that is the darkness' name? I know Erebus, I know Nyx, but never have I heard of Oz. Why should he pick such an ordinary name, which doesn't capture his essence?"

"Because he isn't Greek?"

"He?"

"I mean, they works, too. He's non-binary. And he isn't a being of darkness, per se. He's a being of fear."

"Phobos," Castalia said. 

"Phobos... phobia... yeah, that works, I guess-"

Castalia charged him with a mighty yell, and struck him to the ground. The butt of her blade smashed his face, and the force of it was enough to make him fall. She straddled him, and aimed her xiphos toward his chest.

"Are you scared, Brian, of dying again? Is that your phobia?"

Brian struggled to get up, but he was on her domain, now. Water pooled around her, on the soaked sand and streaming around her body from the sky. 

"Or is it something else?" Castalia asked. "Something more?"

He groaned loudly. It was hard to speak. 

"I guess my offer wasn't so appealing to you. Maybe nothing is. Maybe you've given up on your humanity," Castalia pondered.

"I can't just let you become the monster you hate," Brian wheezed out. "You shouldn't."

"Do you know about us Greeks? We breed off of selfishness and hatred. I tried so hard to repress that, but it's innate. And I have found out how to utilize it. Peace has never given me the ability to defend myself. I learned that through many lessons, which I as a being of wisdom have stupidly ignored. I will never be so ignorant again. And if that means removing you as an obstacle, so be it."

She cut a line across his arm, and he yelled in panic. She was going to destroy his body. "Stop it! NO!"

"You are a good man, Brian. I'm afraid people like you will never understand. I was like you, and I must stop you now, before you harm others with what you say."

He could see her eyes prickling with tears.

"Stop it, Castalia! You don't want to do this!"

"When have I ever wanted to do anything like this?" Castalia asked angrily. "Tell me, Brian! Tell me what good you can bring when I couldn't even bring it forth myself!"

The line was getting deeper. Any deeper, and she could chop his arm off. He closed his eyes. He had to ignore what she was doing. He had to stop her.

"CASTALIA!"

She turned around, and withdrew her blade from his arm. Brian quickly pressed his hand against the gash. He needed to protect it, because it wouldn't be able to heal by itself. She had permanently marked him.

His head turned to the same direction as Castalia's.

_Liam._

* * *

"What did you do?" Liam demanded, gesturing to Brian with his exposed hand. His hat was gone, likely blown away by the wind. "You... you hurt him?"

Castalia eyed her friend. "Liam... I-"

"Can't you see the irrationality of your actions?" Liam pressed. "You would go far as to hurt those who you care about, and monsters who have done nothing but try and help you!"

"Oh my gods..." She rushed over to him, and wiped off some of his dried blood with the rain. "Liam-"

"You didn't even go back to reach me, when you obliterated those guards," Liam reminded with disappointment. "I could have died in the explosion you had caused. You would have thrown away the time we had devoted to each other, the moments we have never forgotten, as though our reunion meant nothing. And it does seem like nothing, to achieve a temporary goal, isn't it?"

"I-I'm so sorry... fuck..." Castalia sobbed out. "I didn't mean to..."

"Not only that, Cast..." Liam pushed her arm, which was stretched out to comfort him, down. "... you lashed out against the very monster who did nothing but show you care. And what did you do? You almost killed him. You almost killed the very being who is trying to return you to your home, and restore your status as the rightful native citizen of your home. You are blinded by hatred, and it changed you. It was like my friend wasn't there, anymore."

That sentence made Castalia's sobs ring harder. "I-I-"

Brian almost patted her shoulder because of her overwhelming emotions, and considered tearing a part of Liam's already tattered shirt to wipe her tears. He always tried to act like a gentleman. His parents didn't promote familial values for nothing. His compassion to stretch even to someone who tried to kill him outlined how he held such values for himself, minus the part about marrying a girl and starting a family of his own. He couldn't guarantee that, as theoretically, he wasn't fertile as a zombie. And who wanted to screw a zombie?

Oh, right. Again, the Monster World was a strange place. If skeleton substitute teachers had impressive boners, zombies could have a damn impressive hunk of flesh to toy around with. Not that Brian was trying to brag or anything. 

"Brian is innocent, and he's correct. What you're doing will spark a bitter revolution. You wouldn't discriminate between the innocent and guilty, which you have proven through neglecting Brian and I's well-beings. You would massacre countless peasants, before you would even reach an inch toward your focal target. You know this."

"He reminded me of me, when I was younger," Castalia reminisced bitterly. "So passionate about following the peaceful path, and not straying far from it. Look where that left me, and my fellow naiads. Most dried up, because of the pollution and draining of the springs. And this... this damn machine that I have to live with..."

She patted her dress, which Brian noticed, held the outline of the machine hooked to her. She grimaced as she spoke more. "I had to buy it from the Vanderbilt Republic. Fund their damn regime, fund the destruction of my sisters... it was humiliating. They increase the prices every few months, and I am barely scraping by. Soon, I wouldn't be able to keep myself alive. I'd just vanish, like everyone else. Dying would let the monarchy win. Being alive is a fucking political statement, now. I stayed away from politics since the Greek oligarchies were formed. Imagine if another well intended monster believed and carried out the same things that I did, by refusing to use my powers for justified defense. I thought, in my flurry of anger, that it would be better if those with such tendencies were gotten rid of. If not through reeducation... then you must get rid of the root of the ideas, which would be the monsters themselves."

"Thus, you became the very beings you hate," Brian repeated. "This is harsh, I know, but as a naiad of wisdom, you surely should have known better than to have adopted such a mentality. Your experiences, rather than building your virtues, were used to go against them. That... is not wise."

She didn't even retort. The rain began to fade in intensity. If Amira was there, she would have screamed in pride that Brian delivered 'some sick ass burns', which would have been very inappropriate. The last time she acted like that, she got kicked out for ruining a classmate's funeral, when a screaming match occurred between the mother and the funeral director over the music played. She never talked to that classmate again. 

"But this doesn't change the fact that the king will never listen to me," Castalia countered instead, rather than addressing Brian directly. "How does Brian think he can help me?"

Brian and Liam didn't even need to tell her for her to figure that out. Castalia grunted. "Through the king's daughter? Are you foolish?"

"She's the direct affiliate of him," Liam stated, "and the best option. If we can convince her to agree-"

"She's immature and spoiled!"

"Because she wasn't allowed to grow out of it!" Brian argued. "That doesn't mean everything must be placed onto her, because she's related to your oppressor! Whatever happened to you is absolutely wrong, yes, but she didn't do anything!"

"She's an oppressor, too. She walks around with stifled serfs everyday, and force them to do extreme, dangerous acts to please her. She never had to work a day of hard labor, or endure starvation and other sufferings. With each day that passes, more of my sisters fade to dust. You are telling me to trust in a woman who is in the same graces as a dishonorable leader."

"Which is precisely why her being in our school is important," Liam stated. 

"She's your classmate?" Castalia practically squeezed out the words from her throat.

"I can confirm that she is an irresponsible, silverware obsessed and rather bratty individual. But she's not like her family. She's one of the only Vanderbilts who does not carry around a weapon with them at all times. Her sister, Bellanda, carries a butcher knife even to the toilet."

"You've been to her home?" The way Castalia spoke was starting to creep Brian out.

"I wouldn't have spoken to her if I didn't believe in her. But I do. And if you have anyone to truly blame..." Liam grabbed Castalia's xiphos, and aimed it at his throat. "Well... who else than the very publisher of the interview which revealed your identity, and caused your sisters to perish?"

_Huh?_ Brian's thoughts were racing. _No... no way... what is he trying to say? Wait... when we were preparing to leave, he didn't want to talk about the interview further, or why he knew Greek. Did... something happen?_

"What? No, I-"

"After I delivered the written material of my interviews with the naiads, I was informed by the editor that my interview would also be read by the king himself. This helped convince him that the naiads should be granted special protection. You knew this, and thanked me after I told you. We both thought that we had won the battle against the monarchs."

"What has this got to do with you?"

The same king of the very republic which accommodated ancient beings like you was, shortly afterwards, overthrown. You remember this."

"I could never forget," Castalia whispered. "But-"

"I had left before the extermination of the naiads, but the speech of the new king before the extermination was published in newspapers. It barely made it to publications, as the new monarchy exercised censorship as soon as possible. This didn't stop the news leaking to millions of monsters."

"I was in exile, so I couldn't read them."

"He said that the naiads were part of a conspiracy to destroy the kingdom, and that if it weren't for their abilities, he would have gladly treated them as second-class citizens. He credited the notes he had found left behind at the king's table after he moved into his palace."

"It was..."

"The interview."

Brian knew what Liam was doing, and he hated it. Liam was shifting the blame from Brian onto himself, but the problem was, Liam was more deserving of Castalia's punishment, despite his involvement being indirect. And if Castalia was feeling merciless... Liam wasn't going to survive beyond the next few minutes. Nobody could kill a vampire better than one with extensive knowledge. Castalia was the perfect murderer. She _knew_ Liam. She could do anything to destroy him. She had eliminated obstacles before to her goal. Liam was an obstacle. He risked getting his life obliterated. 

Liam aimed the xiphos closer to his throat. "I didn't address it myself for years. I couldn't believe it. I thought that the new king's ascension would have garnered no effect. Politicians fib all the time. They don't usually keep promises. And when I found out he indeed carried out his promise, I suppressed that information from my thoughts even further. No more, would I ever participate in writing columns or conducting interviews, for I thought I had murdered my dear friend. If it weren't for the interviews, you may have had better experiences under the republic. Unfair, but not as horrid as your position. I caused the naiad extermination crisis, Castalia. So if you have anyone you must unleash your anger at, it isn't a foolish daughter or a compassionate aid. It is the very monster who caused the destruction of everyone you loved; me."

_Liam... _Brian thought. Castalia's hand was shaking heavily. _What are you doing?_

"Get away!" Brian screamed. "Liam, no!"

"Do it," Liam dared.

"Li-" Castalia was starting to cry again. "Don't make me do this... don't..."

"I'm in your way, now. I have done nothing but create chaos in your life. There is no denying that. So do it."

The xiphos' blade was getting close to the bite on his neck, and a bulging artery in his smooth purple skin was close to being cut. 

"Let go of me!" Castalia screamed. "Let GO!"

"I'm just angling you toward what you have been doing all this time, haven't I?" Liam challenged loudly. "Why are you avoiding it now? KILL ME!"

"NO!" Castalia struggled to free herself. "Let! Me! GO!"

Brian was shocked to see how strong Liam truly was. He was a mediocre dodgeball player, because he never cared about the subject, but when he was passionate, he would commit everything he had toward winning. Now, he was putting in his effort to save _him, _the very monster he despised for deeming him snobbish by the first glance. 

Heeding her words, Liam let go. But he remained standing where he was. Brian quickly ran behind Castalia.

He raised his head up, exposing his neck further. He closed his eyes, accepting whatever happened next, by Castalia's hands.

"I'm at your mercy, now," Liam said. "Avenge your sisters. Spill my blood on the sand. Strike me down. Do. It."

Castalia struggled to even breathe through her tears. Brian wondered why. To him, it made no sense that water nymphs would choke on their own bodily fluids. It sounded like a logical contradiction to the purpose of being a water being. As he was standing up, he was ready to tackle her in case she actually tried to kill Liam. It was only fair. Liam was saving him, and now he had to save Liam back.

"Y-y-you..."

She threw away her xiphos, which sunk itself deep into the wet sand, and wrapped her arms around her friend's neck. Instead of violence, she delivered a tender embrace. The rain almost completely stopped by then, which Brian was grateful for. It showed that Castalia was no longer angry, or seeking vengeance. 

"You didn't kill me," Liam said, in utter surprise.

"How could I?" Castalia whimpered. "You were one of the best monsters I had ever met. I lived because of you. I survived by remembering who you were, and what you have done. You got me through this disaster by your existence alone. How could I just desecrate what we had further? And... how dare you blame yourself?"

She slammed her hand down onto his chest. "Never blame yourself again, Liam. Never. Y-you didn't know."

Liam met Brian's gaze, and flashed a golden half-smile. Half-smiles were better than no smiles. 

"I had held a bias against Miranda as soon as I found out she was a Vanderbilt," Liam admitted. "I thought to myself, how could I ever forgive the family who ruthlessly killed one of the monsters I loved dearly? I thought of all of them as the same; heartless, selfish bastards, who would have been better off gone. I dreamed of wringing the king's neck for years. When he died, my dreams slowly wilted away into selective ignorance. What I did next no longer mattered. You were gone. What was the point? But the longer time I had to spend with her, in those travesty of lessons, I began to see Miranda for the way she was, and understand her position. I pitied her for being isolated from everyone else from her upbringing. As her friend, I cannot just leave her alone. So, every week, I visit her home to teach her philosophy to get her to start thinking for herself. But she's a slow learner."

"Seriously?" Brian responded aloud. "I think slow is an understatement."

"Not the time, Brian."

"It's true!" Brian retorted. 

"Back to the point I was addressing, we can help Miranda, and get her to see the effects of her family on treating others the way they have pursued. This environment is the best environment to help her in. Far from family and with appropriate learning materials, we can educate her on preserving naiads."

"Really?" Castalia asked, raising her head from Liam's chest. "How do you know that? How do you hold such hope?"

Liam kept his eyes on Brian. "If it weren't for Brian, I would have never had such hope. If it wasn't for him, I would have never known you were alive. Nobody else has been so passionate about others before. My hope is in Brian. Brian... is my hope."

_Wow, that's fucking deep,_ Brian thought. His lip quivered. He couldn't stifle his smile fully, so his face looked as though he ate a whole lemon, and didn't swallow it fast enough to avoid the effect of its sourness. _It's so fucking cliche, but agh! He's making me feel so proud of myself!_

"Now that we are together again, we can look to rebuild. We will try and engage in conversation with the monarchy, and ensure your protection. It will be a difficult battle, but we can do this," Liam assured.

"You can trust us," Brian assured. "With someone like Liam, we can figure something out."

_I guess_, Brian thought with uncertainty. _We could create a plan, like through shared documents. Does Castalia know how to use Monster Docs? No offence, but she's really old. Really, really old. But if she owns a phone, she could probably operate a laptop._

"I-I know I can, now." Castalia slowly disentangled herself from Liam's arms, and walked over to Brian. Brian stepped back. "And..."

"Stay away from me-" Brian protested. 

"The cure is available if you want it," Castalia whispered in his ear. "You helped me, and I will help you. If it works, you're owed my gratitude. A deal is a deal, Brian. I don't suppose you'll back away from it, now?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [The chapter has been edited, and I may tweak the chapter some more soon!]
> 
> As you can probably guess from the chapter, Castalia's going to be a recurring character throughout the story. She will not appear very often in chapters, but she will appear enough to show how important she is to the plot.
> 
> I am so sorry for taking so long to update this story! I was revising for my exams for the past few months, and had only just finished my exams. So, I haven't been able to write much. 
> 
> I worked on completing the chapter two days ago, and have typed up a lot of content. While it does outline what I had planned on showing since I planned the story, I want to know how you have felt about the delivery. Was it alright? Should I tweak it more? 
> 
> I may or may not add more details later. I'll let you all know if I do.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	9. Cover Up

_"Never expect to be rewarded from your idiocy ever again," Principal Giant Spider warned._

Being the hero doesn't grant that many benefits, Brian was disappointed to find out.

Brian and Liam were transported to school by Oz's impressive powers. They were engulfed in a soft inky blob, which lowered them gently onto school grounds. And who else to be greeted by than the principal himself?

"Sir-" Brian tried to say, but the principal's intimidating (eight) eyes stunned him where he was, and glued his lips shut by fear alone. He couldn't get out of this easily. He had his backpack around his shoulders, which he contemplated using to defend himself if the principal smacked him. 

"I don't even need to speak for you to understand my disappointment in you, do I?"

He didn't, but that of course delivered more unease to Brian than he already felt. It reminded him of when he was younger, and how much effort went into preparing Brian into becoming a polite, well-mannered person. He needed to be filial, to fulfill his debt to his parents for birthing him and raising him. In Asian cultures, family is very important. Brian was a quick learner, and his parents were pleased to see him grow up to be respectful and honest. However, when his sister was born, he envied how she seemed to have it better than him. Having attention sapped from him reminded him of how he felt when he went through such disciplinary training. If he failed to oblige, he would be punished. He couldn't be informal whenever he returned to South Korea, for example. After once making a minor mistake addressing his grandmother when he was five, he was forced to reflect on his actions in a quiet room, while his family happily chattered nearby.

The culture shock between his American and Korean backgrounds was painful as a developing youth. While his friends would curse about their parents or complain about doing their duties, Brian was expected to speak highly of his family, and to avoid bringing his family shame. Whenever he tried to join in the banter, he would feel guiltily unclean. While he had met fellow Asians who had similar experiences, he was the only child at his home who had to endure such discipline, and absorb such knowledge himself. Nobody was there to learn with him, and he felt lonely. So, the prospect of having a new sibling was both exciting and dreadful. He didn't really want one, but he thought beyond the idea of attention by thinking that he didn't have to endure such discipline alone. Even though he never stopped loving his parents and they never abused him, he wished someone would understand him personally, on a deeper level than his friends, beneath the same roof. If his sibling could do that, he thought, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have one.

But when his sister arrived, his loneliness worsened. He had to take the role as a big brother quickly, which meant that he was expected to mature quicker. There were less guidelines for him to follow; he had to carry them out himself somehow. As she was coddled up and more of the attention was paid on her, he would greedily wish for the same sort of affection again as he learnt how to care for her, or to understand his new position as the eldest child of the family. With a seven year age gap between him and her, he had difficulty bonding with her, and almost even hated her for what she had indirectly done to him. He suffered more than he thought he would. He couldn't take his time with formality anymore. He was forced into it quicker than he could count. 

Looking back, he would have screamed at his younger self for his coldness. She didn't ask to be born, and she almost instantly admired Brian from the get go. 오빠 (oppa), or 'big brother', was her first word. He remembered the day when she said that; he was doing his homework in the dining room, because his father accidentally dropped his chainsaw onto his table while taking a break from cutting down the old, rotting tree on their backyard. As she said the word, she pointed at Brian himself.

While their mother applauded her for her efforts, Brian almost ignored it completely. He remembered shaking his head, and continuing his work, leading to a confrontation from his father himself, who lectured him to understand that his behavior was unjustifiable to an individual who had done nothing but express interest and love toward him. Brian wasn't convinced with the message, but didn't want to mess with someone who owned a chainsaw. 

_"How could you hate your sister?"_ his father asked in Korean. _"How could you?"_

Brian memorized how his father would get disappointed. His face would wrinkle, and his serious brown eyes would squint behind those classic square glasses he owned. But such an expression would quickly fade into a cheery, fun-loving one quickly enough, and those serious brown eyes would glow with excitement. His glasses would be lifted by his nose as he smiled. He wore the same glasses over fifteen years, he would boast regularly. The paint on such glasses mostly wore off, and his wife would constantly complain that they looked too ugly to keep. Brian enjoyed seeing his father smile, and actually listen to him joke and playfully babble away over anything, for he was a hardworking man who arrived home late. His cheerful expression overshadowed every other emotion he displayed, because it was beautiful and precious to the eyes. 

But Principal Giant Spider's expression, to Brian, may as well have remained disappointed forever. His kind exterior was broken down by an immense force of embarrassment over Brian's rashness. His shiny, curious eyes were cloaked with an unusual dull black cover. His two main legs, which were used primarily for holding items, were clenched uncomfortably. His jaws gaped widely, as though he was about to devour the zombie before him. His tie, typically neat and smooth, was wrinkled and almost undone. Nothing about how he presented displayed happiness, pride or positive emotions. 

Oz shyly stood by, and looked at Brian to tell him what to do next. 

"Send Liam to the nurse's office," Brian ordered. 

Oz nodded, and floated away with the vampire. Brian turned his face to the mighty arachnid, and prepared himself for whatever would be told to his face.

"I thought you would learn from Mr de Lioncourt himself about what _not _to do for cautionary protection of oneself," the spider grumbled.

"Sir, I apologize for the unease and distress I have subjected you to, but surely you can understand that such a matter like this couldn't be stalled further!"

"Brian, I told you that I would do something about this," the principal reminded. "I even let you know that I would contact the government about looking into the naiad crisis by the end of the week."

_Um, what?_

"No, you haven't." 

Principal Giant Spider crossed his various appendages together. "Oh? Think more deeply. It was only yesterday!"

And you might be wondering, wait, this wasn't mentioned before? Two chapters ago, we knew that Brian talked to the arachnid and informed him about the naiad.

"Author," you might be crying out loud at this very moment, "did you seriously decide to add this oh-maybe-but-surely-important-dialogue away from us? We want our money back because of you doing this!"

I would probably react the same way as you would, and hand you back the cash you paid if you handed me any. I know that this may appear out of place, but this is from Brian's perspective. And you know those moments when you fail to remember something important? Well, while Brian had an impressive memory, some of his neurons were completely immobilized because parts of his brain were rotten. Even minus the undead aspect of Brian, he could be quite forgetful. Boom, realistic details!

Please do not doubt my authenticity. I am a transcriber of important facts, so you must understand that I wouldn't conjure up such an inconvenience as a mediocre plot device. I clearly cannot.

"Can you give me a hint?" Brian feebly asked.

Principal Giant Spider blinked twice, then squinted angrily. "... you cannot be serious, Mr Yu."

He had never called him so formally before. There was no doubt that Principal Giant Spider was furious. Disappointment was one thing, but to piss off a figure of authority was something that would have made many monsters piss themselves in agonizing fear. Which, in a matter of arson, would be very useful, but Damien wasn't around to spark an immolation worth drinking over eight glasses of water for. 

Several monsters began looking at the duo in curiosity, which felt embarrassing by its own. Brian never got into trouble like this before, let alone publicly. He tried to brush it off by posing casually, but his fingers accidentally brushed against the deep cut across his arm. He froze uncomfortably, knowing that the principal would have been raising every possible alarm physically if he noticed the scar was new. Brian adorned many cuts, and the principal rarely ever saw him without his jacket. While hoping to repair the wound as soon as possible, he tried to play it off as old by paying little attention toward it. A faint twinge of pain remained, though, to remind him that he was permanently marked, and that he was another step toward being fully disfigured, further from whatever was left of his original body's state.

Being a ward of state meant Principal Giant Spider was liable to anything that befell the zombie. The wound itself could warrant enough of a complaint to remove him from the principal's custody, and in turn, remove him from the school. The thought of being removed from his friends terrified Brian, who had already lost contact with his family. His friends were the only family he had left, and to lose them too would be too strenuous on him. 

The principal, upon noticing the students close to them, pointed to his office. "We better talk somewhere else. Shall we?"

* * *

_Well,_ _shit._

"The way you dragged me out of there-" Brian began to say, but didn't have the guts to continue.

"What about it?" the principal asked.

"Um, nevermind." He couldn't tell him that it looked as though they were having an affair or a relationship. He hated the thought of that itself, because the principal was the closest thing to a father figure he had. "I-"

_Is he going to be okay? _Brian thought worriedly, guilty over the vampire's condition. No explosion was minor enough to warrant such damage to him. And as he was an undead, Brian wasn't sure if Liam was able to regenerate skin or blood. He personally couldn't for most cells. His body was strange. He didn't know why he could still breathe, but he benefited from it, because his 'alive' cells aerobically respirated to produce energy. If it wasn't for the oxygen, he would have decayed quicker, and become a skeleton, unless he was covered with a preservative, like natron. 

There were many scientific inconsistencies with the ability for zombies to not decay, when they couldn't breathe or have blood circulating. In the Monster Realm, though, there were little to no questions about zombies' existence being against the limitations of science, because there were many things that went against science anyways. Nearly every monster's existence in the realm went against it. But in the human world, there were reports of zombies in different mythologies, like how in Chinese mythology they are known as 僵尸 (jiang shi). In Korean mythology, zombies are known as gangsi (강시), or colloquially, jombi (잠비). They are also recorded in European mythologies, like the Scandinavian Gjenganger, which are reanimated cadavers who assaulted people or spread illnesses. 

Zombies were said to be produced by spiritual possessions of corpses, the soul failing to exit the corpse, the failure of corpses not being properly buried and others, according to the Chinese scholar, Ji Yun, or 纪昀. In Brian's case, it appeared to be because he wasn't buried. He wasn't in a casket or anything to contain him, or signify his passing respectfully.

Being a zombie almost ruined his chances of playing football ever again, because of the threat of tearing himself apart permanently. He wasn't attracted to the idea of sewing himself back again. He thought it would downplay his already questionable appeal, and he wanted to stay as close to human as possible. Disfiguring himself was out of the question. He thought he could escape the semester without ever touching the football again, but he would find himself walking close to the stands, wishing he would be one of the members desperately.

After one of the big games ended, he found a stray football left alone on the ground, tempting him to kick it through the posts. As he touched it with his fingers, he was transported back to high school, in his red sweaty uniform and head gear. As he ran, he heard the crowds screaming for whatever team they supported, sometimes a completely unrelated one as a joke, and his teammates panting heavily as they fought hard for their score. He himself ignored his body begging him to cool off, and take a breather. Instead, the adrenaline provided a sugar-like rush within him, and he ignored the pain of his feet rubbing uncomfortably against his breaking soles to run past whomever was trying to get the ball out of his hands, and make his way to touchdown. As he was imagining those sweet moments of victory and solved ambition, he felt his feet move along to how his used to, and dodging the players who he thought he would never see again, to make his way to where he belonged. His hands triumphantly pushed the football into its position to victory, and he unintentionally screamed happily when he saw how his groove never went away. He was as good as he was before.

When he turned around, he came face to face with a familiar werewolf, in the similar gear he used to wear himself. Awkwardly, he stepped back to the touchdown spot, and tossed him the sought for football, but Scott grabbed his hand instead, and sniffed it. As the other members came over, Brian quickly ripped the furry hand off of his, and ran away. The next day, Coach knocked on his door, and smiled as he spoke of Scott's admiration of his playing, and how he begged him to be admitted into the football team. To tell his friends such news made them beg as well, for him to pursue his own talent. He now had a bigger excuse to play instead of simply loving it; his ability to play it was verified to be excellent, by the star player of the football team himself. So, he had met Scott before, and had a head start with pursuing him before his friends did. 

But now we have to go back to where he is now, don't we, to being scolded by a pissed off fatherly arachnid. Humiliation overshadows even the best moments, don't they? But we'll always make time to return to them. 

"I'm so sorry, sir," Brian said, "but regardless of what you said, we had to act quickly. In all honesty, I was surprised that you didn't suspect me doing this in the first place, with the unacceptable absence."

"You are a commendable student, so I expected the unacceptable absence to at least halt you..." the Principal admitted. "But I should have known the will of youngsters are much stronger than what I remembered. Back in my day and even now in the arachnid tradition, all the youth had to do was listen to the instructions of their elders. Younger monsters now are more rebellious, and confident in their own actions and beliefs. I didn't see this cultural shift coming, but you surprised me the most when it came to defying my expectations. Please correct me if I'm wrong, Brian, but you were raised in a traditional household as well, right?"

_Wow, are our worlds that much different if the youth are still frowned upon like this?_ Brian wondered. _I mean, I don't care what the world thinks of me as much anymore, but... how much longer do people like my sister have to be concerned about matters like this, that rules override what we think, and often know, what benefits us and others more?_

"I suffered a culture shock, between the more liberal American ideals and my native Korean rules. It was a doozy to experience."

"Uh, pardon?"

"It was... quite crazy to go through. People from two different countries, telling me what to do and how I could act. There were things I liked from both, but in the end, both exhausted me. Why listen to so many ideas when you finally find what you want to follow within yourself, you know?"

"Hmph..." The Principal reclined in his massive chair. "Isn't too much autonomy a curse?"

"And aren't too many rules too choking on monsters who love freedom?" Brian countered. "Everyone's different. Different rules apply differently. That's... a rule of the world."

"... did you really forget what I told you?"

"Yes!" Brian practically shouted. "How many times do I have to repeat myself?"

"... I told you that I would contact the Monster authorities, and have them investigate the matter themselves. I told you to report to me the location of the naiad when the time was right, and that the whole matter should be addressed by the end of this week. What was going through your head when I told you this?"

_Uh..._

"You did?" Brian nervously asked. 

"Do I have to record every one of our conversations for your convenience from now on?" the Principal harshly questioned. "Or..."

"... or what?"

The Principal creepily smiled. "Have you heard of the memory analyzer in the nurse's office?"

_Aw, hell no! Gah! _Brian internally moaned. _It's real?! REAL?!_

"Isn't that just a rumor?"

"Depends. If you're not using your flawed memory, which has usually been impressive, as an excuse to have carried out selfish acts, then punishment can be rightly enacted. Be honest with me, and the memory analyzer can be remembered as nothing more of a rumor. Otherwise, you shall see that it is a true apparatus we use on deceitful monsters."

"Sir, have I ever lied to you before?"

"Not that I recall, but I wouldn't be surprised if you did. You may have upgraded your charm to the point where you can fool even me."

_Uh, why are you saying 'upgraded' charm, like it's a game stat? What is this, a video game?_

"I'm not lying to you now," Brian confidently assured. "You can even look me in the eyes to make sure-"

The Principal swiftly brought their faces close together, so that his many eyes observed Brian's to the highest accuracy. Brian gulped as he felt some hair from the spider's antenna brush against his cheek. He hoped the principal cleaned his antennae often, because he typically ate large insects during mealtimes. Such big insects made cockroaches' sizes laughable. Brian made sure to fold his arm behind as much as possible, to hide away his scar.

"Your eyes are difficult to read."

"I don't really... have irises anymore, so-"

Brian was let go so suddenly, he tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground. 

"Fine. I'll trust you on this, Mr Yu, and I will let you off just this once. But not only do I have more things to explain to the authorities now, you must let me know about the current location of this naiad, Castalia."

"S-sure. Should I leave you her number or I call her directly?"

"Whichever way in which monsters' lives wouldn't be harmed again," the Principal stated.

Brian's guts felt as though they were sucking into each other, from the guilt he faced from Liam getting hurt. "I'll... call her, then."

"Ms Vanderbilt is blissfully unaware, and thus not traumatized, from this incident. But you owe Mr de Lioncourt much gratitude and attention, Brian, and you know this. I would strongly recommend you visit him from time to time, until he fully recuperates."

"I'll try my best to-"

"You must," the Principal ordered, "or I won't be so lenient on you next time. Heed my words, Brian; there will be no more reminders. Now, move along to where you will need to. I must question your friend, Oz, next."

* * *

_So, we almost got wrecked by a naiad. A freaking naiad. And just when that all ends, I almost got my memory forcibly extracted from my own brain, Oz is probably going to have a meltdown from the principal's lecture and Liam's still knocked out in the nurse's office_, Brian sulkily thought in his dorm, as he traced his fingers across his scar. _... and it's only 4 in the afternoon._

When Brian rushed to the nurse's office soon after being dismissed, he viewed Liam being monitored closely by Nurse Chupacabra, who licked her fangs whenever she saw more blood flow out of Liam's forehead. From his summer bridging course, Brian learned that chupacabras were infamous for sucking the blood of livestock, which made him speculate that some of the stored blood in the cabinets were meant for her. There was a suspicious cabinet labelled with only the letter 'C', with the darkest blood Brian had ever seen. Liam's eyes were tightly shut, unconscious and oblivious to whatever punishment the principal could end up cooking for him. Brian's parka was still around his waist, intimately embracing him during his travels in slumber land.

The nurse, upon noticing Brian's presence, hissed. 

"Sorry," Brian deadpanned, "but I still don't understand the majority of what you're saying."

Nurse Chupacabra then opened another cabinet to reveal at least ten standard copies of the Official Chupacabrese Dictionary (The Tenth Edition). She offered to hand it to him, but he shook his head.

"I didn't lose my version," he assured, "but it doesn't have many real life examples to base off of. When will I ever ask a goat, politely, if I can devour its blood and disintegrate it with my canines?"

The nurse grunted, then pointed to Liam's sleeping body.

"What, he memorized that sentence?" The nurse smiled, and brandished a letter from her personal cabinet, written by Liam himself. "... he can write in it? Chupacabrese has its own freaking alphabet system?"

After getting his head bonked by the unimpressed nurse, Brian promised to take another look at the dictionary when he had more time, and asked her to notify him when Liam woke up. She nodded, and pinched him in the ass, politely for good measure. She could be a touchy one when she wanted, and Brian would have protested against such behavior if his sister didn't do that all the time with him, which made him used to such treatment. It was almost comforting, besides when her claws poked through the fabric of his clothing and almost tore his flesh.

He didn't bear to show her his scar either, because he knew whatever injuries he sustained would be immediately reported to the principal himself. There was no worries about getting infected, because there was nothing more infectious than being necrotic already, but he knew that he had to close the skin somehow, otherwise his arm could fall off. The nurse was a very watchful monster, but her eyes evaded the deep wound, somehow.

Brian rushed back to his dorm, and was surprised to see his door replaced. The damaged, oak wood entrance was no longer there. Instead, a blue painted metallic door stood in its place now, bolted efficiently to the doorway. When he twisted the doorknob, he was surprised to see a blue figure standing behind it, too. If she stood still more, she would have blended in well with the other side of the door, too, like as though she melted into the surrounding saxe blue around her.

"Vicky?" Brian watched as the Frankenstein uncrossed her arms, and opened the door wider.

"Tell me everything," Vicky urged, "or I'm breaking off our friendship."

_Fuck._

"Why are you inside my-"

"Brian."

"Okay!" Brian quickly entered the room. "I'm so sorry, Vick. I wanted to tell you and the others about it when I could-"

"Really?" Vicky questioned. 

"Yes. I swear, it's just that everything-"

"-happened at once?" Vicky accurately completed.

"... exactly."

"... I guessed something was off," Vicky explained, "when Damien got suddenly whisked away during our date together. He had to rush over, and explain what had happened. I never stopped thinking about the story, of how you almost got yourself hurt."

"Er, sorry about the date being sabotaged-"

"-and just when I thought I was being paranoid, and that everything was under control, I get a call from Principal Giant Spider, asking me to check up on you in case of anything suspicious. And as I never got such a call before, I rushed over to your dorm. Not only did you not take care of your door, but you were also missing." Vicky shot out an angry laugh. "I couldn't imagine it. My friend Brian. Missing."

"Vicky-"

"I texted you first, only to see that you wouldn't read any of my messages. Next, I frantically asked Amira and Oz about your whereabouts, and while Amira was clueless, I couldn't get a hold on Oz. And then I get notified that Oz was not present at his lessons either. Both of you planned without us having any knowledge or clue." Vicky jabbed a finger at Brian's chest. "What is going on with you two? Ever since this serial dating scheme has been introduced, you two seem to have gone crazy, and have dedicated yourselves only to your potential love interests! Worse, you even neglected to assure us that you two were safe! The fact that you two had the audacity to put keeping us updated as a lower priority than kissing the butts of the top monsters of this school, makes us feel like you don't care about us-"

Vicky paused, to stop herself from choking or tearing up. 

"I promise you, it's not like that..."

"Then what is it about?" she demanded. 

"... remember the naiad that I talked about yesterday?"

Vicky's eyebrows raised. "Yes...?"

"Liam and I managed to confront her, and stop her from executing Miranda. Oz helped to contain her when things got... messy."

"Messy? Like... how?"

"Miranda almost got hurt, and..."

_... imagine what she will say when she sees what I got from that incident! But if I don't tell her, then what happens when she eventually finds out? I know it's selfish, but I don't want to lose her as a friend-_

"And what?" Vicky asked.

"... don't freak out."

Before Vicky could ask further, Brian presented the cut in his arm. Her eyes dropped to the level of the wound, and her mouth responded by opening and emitting one of the loudest sounds that Brian bet he would ever hear. Brian had never heard her scream like that before, with the closest encounter to that being how she accidentally electrocuted a baby turtle which stumbled through the Monster Realm. She didn't emotionally recover from that for two days. But now, her voice was around the same frequency as a loudspeaker next to another loudspeaker, if the loudspeaker had its settings over the setting of eleven and was meant for hard rock concerts frequented by banshees. 

"Vicky," Brian squeaked out, weakly, "what did I tell you about not freaking out-"

"AAAAAHHH! AAHHHHHHH! **AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**"

"Heh..." He hid his arms behind his back. "... yeah. Yeah... keep on going."

After she let out a decent two minutes worth of piercing, panicked screaming, the volume lowered dramatically, but it wasn't pleasant to endure. After opening the curtains, Brian could see a crowd gathering around his dormitory, and a security guard making rounds. His dorm wasn't as soundproofed as expected. 

"Vicky, please-"

"PLEASE WHAT?!" she shrieked.

"... please calm down."

"CALM DOWN? YOU COULD HAVE FREAKING DIED! DIED!"

"Well, I-"

"Don't mention the fact that you're already dead, or I'm flipping you across and throwing you out of your window, then I'll jump out of that window myself, sign up for the Monsterlympics, and use you as my personal javelin! I'll become a gold medalist with the amount of anger I'm feeling toward you! GOT THAT?"

"... good call."

She plopped herself down on Brian's bed, and punched one of the pillows. The pillow's face morphed into a fist like shape; an imprint of Vicky's rage. "Considering how calm you sound, you must have known meeting that naiad was dangerous! Yet, you did it anyways? What is up with your common sense nowadays? What is wrong with you?"

"Vicky, it's on my arm, not my brain-"

"Oh, and you're alive and you can regenerate that skin and portions of your artery, right?" she sarcastically snarked.

"... no."

"Brian, if that cut went any deeper, you may never be able to use that arm again! Do you know how devastating that is, as a self-proclaimed football enthusiast?"

_Damn, right! Shit! The uniform doesn't cover the wound! I can't just wear my parka over that! If Coach finds out, then..._

"Vicky, I had to go! Remember that this naiad was going to kill Miranda if I remained idle!"

"She has guards, Brian! Y-you can't just risk your own convenience for the sake of others all the time! If she has the necessary resources to protect herself, why not let her use those first before butting in?"

"Castalia eliminated the guards faster than Amira can make a grilled mutant goat cheese sandwich! It was crazy!"

"Because you accelerated the process of the two ever meeting, right? You... you purposefully aggravated the naiad, and yet you expected everything to work out so unrealistically?"

"I didn't purposefully do it-"

"-but you knew it was to be expected," Vicky pointed out.

"... yes. But it worked out better than it could have."

"What if it didn't, Brian?"

"Don't dwell on the past-"

"You could have died! Miranda could have died! Everyone could have died!" Vicky tearfully yelled. "What if Oz was the only monster who returned, and the naiad ended up destroying the Vanderbilt monarchy? Carelessness is non-excusable, whatever results from it!"

"We had Liam, and he agreed with the plan! If we didn't have an intelligent monster with us, we wouldn't have done it!"

"You brought Liam? Well, describe how he is now. Is he safe?"

"He's... er... recuperating?"

Vicky gasped. "You also got another monster hurt in your escapade?"

"He should be fine, after a couple of blood shots, according to Nurse Chupacabra. But I really fucking regret bringing him over..."

"Did you use him as a means to an end?"

"No!" Brian threw his hands up. "I swear! He wanted to go, because Castalia's one of his closest friends. He couldn't bear the thought of her getting herself entangled in matters like this. He came on his own accord, and protected me. I owe him one, but I don't know what to do!"

"... where's your parka?"

"... with Liam. He's still wearing it. I'm afraid that if I remove it, I'll distract him from his rest. Vampires need rest too, right? It's strange he's not nocturnal, as he's sensitive to daylight. I wonder if he sleeps in a coffin like the stereotypes suggest-"

"Don't give into the stereotypes, or you'll think that Dr Frankenstein is actually my 'father'," Vicky warned. 

"As someone who is typically logical and straightforward, you making such a far fetched assumption is out of the ordinary, Vick."

"You know what I mean overall, at least," Vicky complimented. "Amira and Oz sometimes require an elaboration, which there is nothing wrong about, but your brain's almost like a computer when it comes to this."

"Heh, if I'm focused, I guess."

"... you're too harsh on yourself sometimes." Vicky patted Brian's punched pillow. "Sorry, buddy."

"It's inanimate, you don't have to feel bad."

"There's no excuse of being violent. I'd rather have to treat everything with respect. carefully, than be impulsive. But I was so close to punching you to the ground, you know?"

"... yeah. And it's understandable. What I did could have been better thought out."

"I guess... I should be glad that you're alright, in the present, than thinking too much about the other outcomes... maybe I reacted too harshly."

"No, no... you were worried." Brian sat down beside the fellow monster, and laid his injured arm around her. "You're an amazing friend, Vicky, and I know you care. You have every right to be worried, angry, or whatever you're feeling right now. I'm sorry that I left you out of what was going to happen, along with Ami... shit..."

Vicky laid her head against Brian's shoulder deeper. "At least you made it for you to apologize to me. Otherwise, I don't think I'd ever be able to forgive you. Perhaps, I'd ask Damien to guide me to Hell, Heaven or purgatory, just to scream at you. He likes you enough for that."

Brian chuckled. "Justified."

"But you also need to apologize to Amira. She's still out of the loop about all of this."

"Where is she? I'll walk over now."

"I can call her later, Brian. But before I do that..." Vicky shuffled slightly, and held up Brian's arm. "... time to fix this up, right?"

* * *

Vicky lived in a neighboring dorm, which Brian visited with the others around once a month. She wasn't as comfortable having frequent visitors, which was respected by her friends. She was more social than Oz, but almost loved nothing more than chilling out by herself in her pajamas, listening to music and dancing around wildly. She had executed some impressive dance moves, Brian would have said himself, at the Outdoors area, but she had more fun practicing them by herself. Self-satisfaction sometimes was the best form of satisfaction. She was also a pretty busy monster herself, with several ECA's that she attended occasionally, and with a strong devotion to homework. If she was sensing a student about to topple her from her rank as among the top students in her classes, she would do extra credit. 

Even though Vicky was far from being the most popular student, students generally respected her for willing to help out with simple tasks, like borrowing various stationery, and for her kindness. For Brian, it was too bad that her other redeeming qualities were overshadowed by the head honcho monsters, who sucked out opportunities to be popular too. He would admit that it could be fueled by bias, but he believed she deserved to be respected more than most of the popular monsters he knew. 

Vicky's dorm would always smell piney, with wafts of myrrh every time he stepped on the faux unicorn skin carpet. She received presents on every major holiday from the Principal as a fellow ward of state, and so that she would 'remember' the traditions of holidays and enjoy them, too, for she had no tender recollection of family from her previous life to know. She had received myrrh the previous year, and reapplied it to the faux unicorn whenever the scent faded to provide an otherworldly, yet pleasant, aura. The first time Brian and the others arrived, they were horrified to see the fake carcass. Well, as Oz was fear itself, his reaction wasn't of an appalled state, but Amira did faint and not wake up for an hour. Brian, though not the sentimental type, almost broke into tears. Vicky had to prove the unicorn wasn't real, by pulling out the price tag and label from the unicorn's trachea, which was another horrible experience altogether. Her entire arm was swallowed to its hilt to obtain the evidence.

Her door was made out of reinforced, enchanted oak wood. It was almost impossible to break through or tear down without a large quota of magic. Vicky had stayed in the dorm ever since she was first enrolled into the school, because she was highly incapable of self-defense or independent thinking. Now, she could do almost everything by herself, and she became a low concern monster. Her intelligence and strong resolve of learning allowed her to escape her incapacitated state. Brian remembered the first time he encountered her, right before he started his first year of school. She was somewhat shy, but quickly grew comfortable around Brian's company. She was his first friend, as they understood each other from their shared backgrounds as monster wards of state.

Vicky searched through her cabinet, which was parallel to the main entrance, to reach her sewing kit. She had joined the sewing ECA to decorate her own dorm, after being tired of seeing that her walls were devoid of pictures or paintings. From her own handiwork, her own bedroom walls were covered in hung sewn banners of Dragon Heat characters, locations of Spooky High (like the Outdoors) and her friends. The detail of her needlework was impeccable. Her design of Brian's figure accurately showed each of his scars, and the sequins of his beloved green jacket. To make such designs of her friends, she invited each of them individually, made them stay in one position for around thirty minutes on an (uncomfortable) stool, sketched their figure, and stitched the final product. She found Amira to be the hardest to design, because she hated staying in one position without a distraction, and found complete silence boring. Vicky required pure silence for her best efforts to shine in her work. She finished all of the designs within a week. Spells helped with hurrying the process, but most of the credit was only hers to claim. After presenting her outstanding work to the leader of the ECA, who happened to coincidentally be a spider, she won her very own sewing kit. The exterior of the beloved sewing kit was no other than one of the most exciting scenes of Dragon Heat, with the main dragon preparing to sex up his cousin's cousin's brother's best friend, after the intense struggle of trying to get laid after boning almost everyone he had been acquainted with.

The scene happened to be Vicky's favorite in the book. Brian borrowed her copy of the story to read the infamous scene to inspire himself for a Creative Writing project, and ended up achieving an A. His realistic detail of the main character receiving an STD from their unprotected exciting affair ruined Brian's chances of getting an A*, and he regretted the decision of including it for at least two weeks. The teacher who assigned it resigned shortly after, and it was rumored that one of the written assignments hit too close to home, and it drove him to tears. Brian wouldn't be surprised if his own assignment drove the teacher away from Spooky High permanently, provided he too had sex with an eccentric, pissed off leprechaun. 

"Hold out your arm," Vicky instructed. 

They sat at a wide marble dining table, on comfortable cushioned wooden chairs. Vicky had the nicest accommodation among the friend group, and Amira once jokingly called Vicky 'spoiled' because of it. But Brian was never jealous of her. His small dorm had enough space for him to get by, and he didn't need a kitchen. He understood that the spacious dorm helped Vicky acclimate to her life at Spooky High well. 

"Do you also want to measure how wide it is?" Brian joked, poking fun at Vicky's serious tendencies. 

Vicky glared at him. "Want me to scream the place down, again?"

"No. You have an impressive set of pipes, and they could have knocked down the walls of Jericho if they persisted at that volume."

"Jericho?"

"It's from a Biblical story."

"I never read the Bible. I mean, I probably did before, but..." Vicky frowned deeply. "... I don't know... I mean, I don't think I have the time to do so now, either."

"Hey, hey. It's okay."

"... right. Right!" Vicky opened the sewing kit. "Which color do you want?"

"What?"

"I'm gonna have to sew the wound. A bandage won't do the trick. You have to close it up. So, which color do you reckon would work?"

He looked down at his marred, broken skin. The sight of it was depressing. "... green?"

"Ah, right! I should have thought of that by instinct already..." She pushed around the various thread to find the shade that fit Brian the best. "Okay... light green should be the closest..."

Brian had gotten stitched up before, but it had been a long time since the last time he was treated that way. The last time was particularly painful, and he couldn't predict how much pain he would have to endure even with his dulled senses. He watched Vicky carefully snipping a long piece of thread, and pushing it almost effortlessly into a needle threader. She set the threader through the eye of a golden painted needle, which looked like the needle Brian's mother used whenever his sports shirts got several holes from roughhousing. He gripped the table edge tightly, and several of the muscles under his gashed arm bulged.

"Brian!" Vicky yelped, and grabbed his arm. "Calm down! What's wrong?"

"... oh!" His muscles calmed down. "Sorry, sorry. Just thinking..."

"About what?"

"I don't want to talk about it, sorry."

"Then another time, maybe. But you tensed up so much. Please calm yourself, otherwise sewing your arm can be difficult." She raised her head up. "Are you sure you can't let Nurse Chupacabra treat you? I'm not a professional when it comes to suturing like she is."

"Remember how much they freaked out when you got attacked by that weird vampire outside of school, during our camping trip together as a group?"

"It was just a graze, luckily."

"You got treated before any other monster, even the ones who were there first. You know how the Principal will react. If he finds out, he'll refuse to let me outside the school premises, like what he did to you. I made countless excuses for you whenever anyone asked. You never hang out with us outside of school anymore because of it, and you are probably the most adept of us when it comes to defense. You spawned a shield with Spell #34, and I'll never forget that spell. You protected us all from getting mauled, before Oz spawned him away. It was pretty awesome."

"...I wish that I could hang out with you all again freely, like before. It's frustrating. I... get what you mean."

"It has been three months, though. It isn't fair to keep you cooped up around. Maybe we could talk to the principal about it-"

"No!" Brian shook slightly, startled from Vicky's words. "I'm... I'm busy with school stuff already, and I... I just want to focus on my academics right now. I don't want to exacerbate the issue anymore."

"Vick-"

"I'll do it when I think... it's appropriate. But now's definitely not the time, after what you've done. Don't you agree?"

"... you're right. Sorry."

"I want to get out as much as you want me to, but we're... we're like the Principal's children, you know? He has the responsibility to protect us under any circumstance, and to pressure him is to make him feel as though he's neglecting his duty."

_Do parents have the right to restrict their children's freedom like this, _Brian wondered, _when they have proven themselves to be able to take care of themselves?_

"Are we like his children, Vick, or is he just a guardian? Parents have the ability to discipline and set rules, because they must keep their children in line, but guardians oversee what the children are doing." Brian could see Vicky pause hesitantly, and set the needle away. Confused, he kept going, unsure if he should stop or not. "He doesn't have any obligation toward us, and as he isn't our relative, you know that you have the right to-"

"Brian!"

Vicky slammed her hand on the table, causing the fruit bowl to topple over, and one of the fruits to fall splat on the ground, crushed like Vicky's patience with her friend. 

"Look... Do you want me to help you, or not? Because I can just let your arm drop off if you keep running your mouth like this," Vicky warned. "I'm not doing what you have suggested, and quite frankly, it's unfair to do, after everything he's done for us. Now, don't speak of this with me again, or I'm not helping you anymore. Got it?"

_Fuck, what am I saying? And to Vicky, too! If I keep speaking like this, I'm going to lose her! What the fuck is WRONG with me?_

"... I'll keep quiet."

Vicky huffed. "Good."

She picked up the needle again, but more harshly. With her anger, Brian was surprised she wasn't in the mood to stab him with it.

"... I'm sorry."

"You used to be more obedient than this, Bri." Vicky aimed the needle. "This serial dating scheme has worsened your character."

* * *

_I'm the worst._

Brian touched his repaired skin. Small bits of the thread annoyingly poked out, but otherwise blended with his skin tone well enough. His pink muscles were hidden away, just as they should have been, behind the rejoined green cover of skin above. Castalia's blade cut so deep, she almost reached the bottom of his dermis, so Vicky had to sew more than expected. Vicky jittered when she saw how far the cut went, mumbling hope that the cut wasn't deeper than she observed. Brian, as predicted, barely felt pain, but also felt revulsion when he saw the fat and muscle in greater detail when the gash was widened with curious fingers. 

"Here." Vicky tied a green bandana around the wound for extra measure. "Call it a fashion choice, and that you were inspired by me. I'll back you up."

"Thank you so much, Vick."

Vicky massaged her fingers. "I should have sharpened the needle first. To pierce through skin is more difficult than fabric, which is to be expected. Next time, don't come to me for medical assistance, okay?"

"Of course."

"About your door, and why I was there... as soon as I reported it, I hid under your bed, and waited for you to open it. I know, creepy, but I knew there was no other way I'd be able to confront you about it."

"How did you report it?"

"Don't you also have an emergency hotline?"

Prior to starting to school, Vicky and Brian were gifted phones, with emergency contacts inputted and digitalized tracking devices in case they ever got lost, or left the Monster Realm premises. Their personal usage of the phones, like what they searched or took pictures of, wouldn't be monitored, but if they were suspected of planning to escape the care of their legal guardians or flee to the human world, their phones would be confiscated, and everything would be searched. 

"Yes, but I never used it before. I thought it was only for the most urgent of emergencies."

"It has multiple functions. Having your own door destroyed because of a hostile monster is surely an issue to be taken seriously."

"I suppose."

"... Brian, I'm sorry for yelling at you. Again. I bet you had a stressful day, too."

"... I did. I thought... I thought I was going to die again. My mind's just all over the place now, and it's made me careless, and so ignorant toward what you feel. I should apologize to you."

"I'm glad that you understand now. I forgive you... but don't say such rebellious things anymore, okay?"

"... I just feel... guilty."

"Guilty?"

"You're right. Principal Giant Spider is like a father to us. He's the only father figure we have, now. But he's deemed responsible for whatever happens to us. Isn't that unfair?"

"He took up that responsibility for us. He wants to be deemed responsible."

"But why? Isn't that so... harsh? Even my father didn't-"

_But he did_, his mind retorted. _When he taught you all of those rules, punished you for disobeying him... he did that, because you represent his parenting skills. You represent his character already, as you carry his genetics. This is similar enough. If he sees you now, how would he see you, Brian? Wouldn't he be disappointed?_

_Don't you dare say that..._ he thought back. _You... you don't have the right to mention him._

_But I do! _His mind almost seemed to smile sadistically back, in a menacing swirl of self-hatred. _Of course I know him! I carry all those memories, the good and bad. You know that I hold the key to torment you again. Now, get back to whatever you were doing, and try not to overthink again, or I'll be back!_

"Isn't that what fathers do, though? Take responsibilities for their children, so that they still have the chance to learn and grow."

"Yes, but not when they're old enough to do that for themselves."

"Brian, we're not that old, if you think about it. Not when it comes to this world."

"This world has the same age standards."

"But we're young monsters. We've just got introduced to this new style of living. In a way, that makes us younger than everyone here. Even toddlers are older in this environment than us, because they know they're monsters, and they know that this is the world that they will spend most of their lives in. We just figured that out, and we're still adjusting to it."

"You're doing better than me."

Vicky startlingly flinched. "Am I?"

"Yeah."

"Why do you say that?"

Brian was going to answer quickly, but stopped. He couldn't bear to tell her that because she could _only _remember that she was now a monster, she was more adapted to this world, because she may never regain her memories of her time as a human. That was too cruel, and potentially wrong. It wasn't guaranteed that she would never remember.

"... you're one of the best students in school. You fit in. You know the knacks of this place, and sometimes, I have to catch up to meet even half of your pace."

"You fit in well, too, you know?"

"How?"

"Why do you think you've been pursued, lately? It's because you're different. Sometimes, different is what monsters crave. Constantly fitting in causes your life to be monotonous. Everybody gets bored with the same sort of events if they occur too often, unless you're Amira when it comes to her addiction of the demonic ram macaroni."

"Damn, does she love that macaroni."

Vicky chuckled. "Right. But the head honcho monsters who are going after you seem to like you... quite a lot."

"Like who?"

"... I don't even need to say who they are, right? Damien gabbed about you during our date, and after that, said that I could invite you for roleplaying."

"Surely he was broader than that."

"He specifically said 'Brian, that green bitch zombie who I can't get my mind off of because I was a bitch to him, but don't tell him I said that or I'll crush you as my new highlight of makeup, and don't tell anyone about that either because - gah, I need to set someone on fire, or else I'm going to explode in rage.' Exactly like that."

"Maybe you shouldn't have told me that."

"He doesn't scare me. I'm helping him with an essay he has to deliver by next week, and if he does anything, I'm dropping the help. He's really desperate to finish it."

Brian imagined his flashbacks from hell, and chuckled weakly. "... are you sure he doesn't scare you?"

"... what did he do to you? He did admit that he wasn't so nice toward you."

"Can you promise me something, Vick?"

"... what?"

"If Damien asks you to teleport with him... don't."

"Er..." Vicky shrugged. "... okay. Is that related to what he did to you?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"It's too scary to describe. Nothing happened to me physically, so it isn't the worst thing that ever happened to me, but it's not worth it."

_Mentally, I'm still recovering, though. Better not say that!_

"Oh. Damn... Alright. I promise."

"Spellbind it."

Brian learned spellbinding from his third Magic lesson, and was informed by the teacher that it could only be conducted with the consent of the other party. So, if Vicky wasn't up for it, the spell wouldn't work. There was an illegal way to do it without someone's consent, but Brian didn't feel like he should be doing douche things. 

"Really? My word isn't enough?"

"... okay, we don't have to do that, then."

"You do know that if he teleports me without my consent, I could destroy a large chunk of whatever area we're in?"

"Really? I thought it was less serious than that!"

"I'm glad you talked to me first, before you had the chance to try it out!"

_I guess I can use it for something or someone else. One day, if anyone dares to fuck with me..._

"I should get my parka as soon as I can," Brian said, running his fingers along the green kerchief tied around his arm. "Even if I say it's a fashion choice, what happens if somebody pulls it without me being aware enough? I can't risk anything."

"I get that thinking ahead is important, but if you're too stressed, then your blood pressure would-" Vicky smiled awkwardly. "Uh, ignore that."

"No, it's fine. I'm flattered that you forgot I'm dead. It's hard for most to ignore that."

"I mean, when we're both so similar in that sense, it doesn't feel that way anymore. I don't remember what it's like to be alive, anyways. But... with the state my body's in, stitched up and all... maybe it's best if I don't ever remember?"

Before Brian could respond to that, he heard a phone ringing. He patted himself, before remembering he left his backpack, and also phone, behind at his dorm. Vicky rushed into her room, got the device, and brought it back to the table where she and Brian sat. She showed the screen of the phone to Brian: AMIRA, in bold letters, it stated.

"Hello?" Vicky accepted the call, and set it on speaker.

"Um... hey, Vick..." Amira seemed to be fidgeting, where she was. "Uh... I need your help."

"What's wrong?" Vicky locked eyes with Brian, and bit her lip. They both were thinking the same thing; Amira better not have gotten herself into trouble, too, or the day was going to get even more intense.

"Yeah, uh... Vera invited me out, and I thought she liked me, so I went along. But she... she..."

Amira began sobbing, which wasn't uncommon for them to experience, because she had cried in front of them before, like the first time the cafeteria ran out of demonic ram macaroni. Brian held some hope that whatever Amira was troubled by, it wasn't serious.

"She what?" Vicky prodded her to continue.

"She fucked me over, man! I can't believe I got distracted by her body and how frisky her snakes are! I can't believe I'm still turned on by her, even though I'm in trouble, now!"

"Trouble? For what?" Brian and Vicky both decided to overlook Amira's graphic description of her libido spiraling out of control because of a gorgeous gorgon.

"Okay, so she told me that we were going on a date initially. I was so excited, I almost wet myself, so I rushed to the toilet beforehand to prepare myself. I went with her in her car to enter the city, and we arrived to this bomb ass restaurant, like, it had everything you could ever want! She told me that I could order whatever I wanted, so I gobbled down most of the menu items, and she didn't even complain about the mess I made! I even downed the salad, and you know how I would rather take a rain check on that. Agh, that's probably the best date of my life, even if she turned out to be a bitch in the end! When I become a millionaire, I'll bring you guys over. It's called the Avant-Gardenia of Edenia, and it's so freaking-"

"Please get to the main point, Amira..."

"Okay, so I was so busy eating the food that I didn't notice her leave. I thought it'd be fine, but as soon as I checked my wallet after the cheque arrived, I managed to convince the waiters to let me chase down Vera first, but they allowed me to leave after I said her name. She probably killed the previous owner of the restaurant, or something. It's a totally Vera thing to do. I was walking as fast as I can, because otherwise I'd get a stomachache. I know exercise boosts your metabolism and all, but my grandmama would always warn me about running on a full stomach. You'll puke yourself to death-"

"Ami..."

"Right... where was I? Oh... She didn't tell me she was robbing a bank! When I found her outside the city bank, the security sirens were screeching at the top of their lungs. Whoever owns the bank actually employed sirens! She flashed me a smile that almost made me orgasm-"

"Didn't need to know that-"

"- whispered in my ear about how pissed she still was about the prank we pulled on her, and passed her massive bag of cash to me, while having plenty to spare! When I saw the security gargoyles arrive, I noped the fuck out of there, right before they grabbed me with their stinking claws, and now I'm in the middle of nowhere! I don't want to go to fucking jail! My second great uncle's there, and he's an asshole! He once gave me a popsicle from the Land of the Winter Elves, and I almost froze to death! I should have remembered that I'm his sixth favorite niece out of seven, as the seventh niece has terrible table manners, but my memory sucks sometimes!"

"... I'm sure you won't see your uncle there-" Vicky perked up. "-wait, WHAT?! JAIL?!"

_She doesn't need increased strength or power_, Brian thought, though already familiar with her rare screeches, _when she's so loud like this, that her voice can bounce off the walls flexibly like this. Maybe she should have been employed as a bank siren. Missed opportunity, maybe._

"Yeah, there's... a lot of stuff going on! But I need your help now, Vick. She threatened to do something to me, if... if..."

"If what?" Vicky's hands were in the air, waving, as if that would change Amira's terrible luck.

"... if I don't tell who's responsible for toilet papering her house, I'm gone. Goodbye, school life! My parents are going to make me harvest demon egg sprouts again if I drop out! Like, I haven't done that shit in years! And the family business isn't even doing as well as it used to! They keep begging me to ask Damien for help, but since when did he care about economics? He'd rather cause a diamond mine to explode than hoard the goods! I bet I'm better at managing finances than he is, and I'm fucking broke!"

"..." Vicky eyed Brian, who was in the same state of worry. Everybody knew that Vera was sinister, and if she was going to target them like this, they were in big trouble. "... we should tell this to everyone, see what we can all think of-"

"No! Don't tell this to Brian or Oz, okay? Oz will metaphorically pee himself dry, and Brian will march on over there, and get himself petrified like the amazing shithead he is. They're going to freak out if they hear this! Vera... she's out for our balls, both nonexistent and existent, for how we pranked her. If one of us admits to it, they're fucked. But if none of us admits to anything... we're all going down the same pit of demise."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter has been edited. Amira's got more dialogue now, woohoo!)
> 
> FOLLOWING END NOTE IS FROM 4TH SEP, 2020.  
... hey guys.
> 
> I'm so sorry that I took so long to update this story. I suffered from huge writer's block, and, I admit, got pretty lazy after all the stress from dealing with future education stuff. Even though I finished my exams months ago, I've got some more stuff coming my way that I have to prepare for. I didn't expect to take more than three months just to make this chapter at all. I hated that I left you all hanging, and that I didn't work on this more often. Again, I deeply apologize. :(
> 
> I'm sorry if I disappointed you with there not being any dates this chapter, but I wanted to explore more with Brian's relationships and histories with his friends, because they will influence his personal decision making. We'll explore more about Vicky in future chapters as well. I promise that there will be romancing and stuff on the way, but with the homework and lectures I have on my plate, that may take a while.
> 
> Are you guys alright with this kind of direction? Feel free to comment how you felt about this chapter.
> 
> And you can probably guess who he'll be attempting to court next from this chapter... probably. ;)


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